


Seasons

by Kiire



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Falling In Love, Fluff, Non-binary farmer, Other, Personal Growth, haley-centered, some drama? i guess?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28600629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiire/pseuds/Kiire
Summary: “Do you need something?” she said, as if she could make them turn away.“Hm, I think we had a rough start.” they scratched that wild hair. “I’m sorry if I offended you, or, I don’t know, something. I thought you might like this.” They said, offering a bright yellow and beautiful daffodil.“Oh.” Distrust nagged at the back of her head. “Thanks. It’s really pretty.” she answered, stiffly. The farmer quickly left and Haley felt like she could breath better.or the story of how Haley had a year of learning because she fell for a dirty farmer with 0 sense of fashion and a kind heart.
Relationships: Haley/Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 53





	1. The Winter Before

**Author's Note:**

> This is Haley centered, because. Alex is a BABY and Emily knows more than she says most of the time. This is the first time the farmer is mentioned by them, mostly to set the scene.

“I heard there’s someone new in town.” Alex said one day, while they were lounging in her room. “Well, going to be. Mayor Lewis won’t shut up about the farmer moving into that abandoned farm.”  


Haley had heard him talking to Pierre when she went for groceries. “Yeah, I heard him. They’re the grandchild of this friend of his from back in the day, that used to be a farmer there.”  


Alex laughed and shook his head, throwing his ball up.  


Haley wondered to herself why someone would become a farmer in this time and place, working for hours in the sun and dirt, when they already had Pierre’s food - which Emily always made her buy from -, and the new Joja store with everything they needed. Besides, she had seen that farm once, when she was helping Alex look for a place he could go tracking, and it looked basically overrun by nature. The competition was high, there was a lot of work involved, and the reward was probably little.  


She turned the page of the magazine in her hand, staring at the dated fashion.  


“What do you think of this one?” She raised the page, showing a weird sort of futuristic-robotic look that, to her, was awful.  


“No realness, looks like it came from a dystopian future.” he shrugged, shaking his head.  


“Honestly? It probably was inspired by it. It’s from when that movie about the Gotoro empire came out.” She threw the magazine on the trash, along with the others she was disposing of.  


“Oh, I remember that time...” Alex said with a nostalgia-filled smile. “I have this leather jacket from back then that I still look way too good in it.”  


“I don’t get how you still fit in it.” she said, throwing a pillow at him.  


“I was an early sprout. And with all the work-outs for gridball, my body already looked a lot like what it is today.” he said, shrugging. “I wish someone in this town could appreciate the hours of work I had on this temple!” he complained jokingly, throwing his hands against his heart.  


Haley laughed. “You should talk to my sister, she and her aerobics group definitely care for their temples.”  


“You know what?! Maybe I will!” he said, with a fake thoughtful face. They both started laughing.


	2. Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haley meets the farmer and has a month of awkward run ins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is where the story actually begins, enjoy!

“Emily?” Haley shouted from the door. “I’m going to the fountain to take some pictures. You need anything?” She heard her sister grumble something as she quickly took stock of everything on the fridge. 

“I don’t think so?” she shouted back. “Have fun!”

Haley rolled her eyes. Fun. In this middle of nowhere town where everything was the same and nothing changed, maybe the fountain _was_ the only source of fun. With her camera and her lenses inside the bag, she opened the door, only to be met by an unfamiliar face about to knock on it. 

“Oh, hey!” they said, their face a little surprised. Haley wondered if they had been standing there for a while. “I’m… Uh. I met Emily yesterday, she told me to come by tomorrow to meet you. The mayor asked me to introduce myself to everyone. Vis. I’m Vis.” they stumbled upon her words.

“Oh, you’re that new farmer, aren’t you?” Haley said, a little unimpressed. The stranger’s arrival had been on everyone’s lips for at least a month.

“Yes. That’s me.” the farmer nodded a little carefully, shifting on their feet.

“I’m Haley.” She pondered for a second. The farmer wore a brown shirt that matched their hair, a blue bandana tied around the neck, a pair of black and very worn out pants, and ancient boots in their feet. Haley wasn’t very impressed. “If it weren’t for those horrendous clothes you might actually be cute.” She did a double take. They were pale, as if no sun had ever touched their skin, and their full cheeks and big jaw were framed by wild brown curls; they were also probably Alex’s height and very thin. “Actually, nevermind. Well, bye.”

And she took off. She decided going to Alex’s before heading to the fountain, remembering the conversation they had had about the newcomer in the past winter. She found him outside, petting Dusty. Tightening her hold on her bag, she went to him, and when he saw her approaching, a mischievous smile grew on his face.

“Did you meet the farmer?” he basically read her look, holding his ball as if he would throw it to her. 

“Oh my god those clothes!” she exclaimed, hands moving in a gesture of incredulity. They laughed together, and Dusty barked at her. She petted him with a smile. “I was just going to the fountain to take some pictures, you wanna come and talk about it?”

“Yeah sure.” He opened Dusty’s gate and the dog jumped a little, licking them both. Alex took a ball from his pocket and threw it in the direction of Pierre’s, and the dog took off, and they started the path to the fountain. 

“What did you think of them?” She asked. Alex shrugged.

“I have to agree on those clothes. Wow, couldn’t they pick something that actually favored them? That shirt has the color of weak soil. And I know it because I help granny a lot in the gardens.”

Haley laughed deliciously, her hand covering her mouth. Dusty came running back with the ball in his mouth and she threw it again. “The boots. Yoba, maybe they found them already in the farm, because they’re a thousand years old.”

“Really anxious too. They seemed like they had no idea how to interact with me.”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure they had a word vomit just to introduce themselves.” she shook her head. 

“They’re kinda cute, though.” Alex said, a twinkle in his eyes. He played tug of war with Dusty and his ball for a second, before throwing it again. 

“Ugh, everyone has a taste I guess.” Haley rolled her eyes, pushing him playfully. 

When they arrived at the park, Alex started practicing with his ball, using the swings as targets. Dusty ran after the ball every time. 

She took her camera out, sitting on a bench and looking around. Younger Haley loved it here, she met Alex on that exact playground, when he had just moved there. Present Haley, knowing Zuzu city, found this to be one of the few places in the town that was tolerable.

All she could think about here was the world out there. Places where there were actually things to see, and buy, and experience. Places that didn’t have the same day to day as the last twenty years, basically the same people. She sighted, and wondered if she could make enough money working as the photographer of the mayor to finally move away. Her mind returned to the pale farmer. Who would exchange a life in the world out there for a life in Stardew Valley?

She raised her camera when Alex was preparing another shot, and snapped a pic. He looked really good in his element, training in the outdoors. She made a mental note to give the Mayor the film, so he could get the print for her. 

Dusty came along, and nuzzled her legs. She scratched his ears and smiled at his doe, wanting eyes; the big dog had grown on her, after all the time she spent with Alex.  


The sunlight hit the fountain in just the right way, and a fading rainbow made its presence known. Haley took the pic, wondering just when her parents would return, and maybe, just maybe, she could leave.

The next time Haley saw the farmer, they were running in the direction of Pierre’s. And when they saw her, they smiled with uncertainty in her direction. Haley gave a tightened smile in return, and that caused the farmer to approach.  


“Do you need something?” she said, a little aggressively, as if she could make them turn away.  


“Hm, I think we had a rough start.” they said, rubbing that wild hair. “I’m sorry if I offended you, or, I don’t know, something. I thought you might like this.” They said, offering a bright yellow and beautiful daffodil.  


“Oh.” Haley said, surprised. Distrust nagged at the back of her head. “Thanks. It’s really pretty.” she answered, stiffly. The farmer quickly left, and Haley felt like she could breath better.  


That night, she stared at a few pictures of her high school friends that were attached to her dresser. People she hadn’t spoken in years, and that claimed to be forever. So many gifts given and so many mean words spoken when the person wasn’t looking. Her first camera had been a gift from her first boyfriend, saying she had an eye for beauty; her favorite makeup set had been first a gift from one of her best friends; food and magazines would always be given to her when they thought she would enjoy it. So nice, all of them.  


Zuzu City had been a place where she did so much with so many people. She remembered her high school crew always being around, doing crazy things, being surrounded and at the same time not trusting a single person. Remembered breaking up with her first boyfriend after catching him with one of her friends from the time, her first girlfriend breaking up with her because she was “too much of a bitch”, everyone she had an interest in being interested back, but never wanting more. Everyone wanting to be her, but talking shit about her behind her back. So nice.  


She remembered her great-grandmother telling her about how people always want something from you, and that’s why “you can’t trust easily”. They had wanted something from her, as she had wanted from them. She was the one that taught her that people needed to fear you first if you wanted to be respected.  


Maybe that’s why Alex was the only person in her life she trusted, besides Emily - who was on her own other level of weird -, the only person she felt she could talk about everything in life. They had found each other when they were both alone, and wanting the same thing.  


A chill ran through her body as she thought about her nana. She breathed in deeply, opening her computer; maybe she should buy some new clothes.

The egg festival arrived, and with it all the rabbit decoration and egg related food. It wasn’t exactly her favorite, but Gus never made bad food in his life, so she wasn’t complaining.  


“God I love the Egg festival.” Alex said with a smile, as he ate scrambled eggs.  


“As to be expected, for someone that basically eats eggs as an energy source.” she shook her head with an amusing roll of eyes, eating a spoon of egg salad.  


She had chosen a pastel yellow dress for the occasion, and a bow to tie her hair back. Alex wore jeans shorts and a white shirt that had a small rabbit sewed in the left chest she was sure Evelyn made for him, which caused a swell of love for her best friend and his grandma. Emily, as usual, had her rabbit themed outfit ready for the festival, and had even made a special make up for the occasion, as she always did. It was… really eccentric.  


“I love it because it’s just so much fun.” Emily said with a bright smile. “The egg hunt, the picture you can take as a rabbit, the egg themed food.”  
“You think all the holidays are fun.” Haley retorted, smiling at her sister.  


“Because they are.” she answered, the smile getting impossibly bigger. Weirdo.  


“It’s a tradition, dear.” Evelyn said with a warm smile. “They connect us with the past of the valley, and we know it’s gonna be here in the future. They’re all special.”  


George grunted from this seat, and ate a spoonful of omelet.  


Haley didn’t really feel any cosmic connection with the festival, but it was impossible to disagree with Evelyn. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” she chuckled. Finishing her egg salad, she got up from the table. “I need to get back to my post.”  


And she took a seat next to the cardboard rabbit, camera in hand.  


“Mom! Mom! Can I be the rabbit?” Vincent exclaimed, tugging Jodi towards it. “Hello miss Haley!”  


“Hello, Haley.” Jodi said politely. “Could you take a picture of him?”  


Haley smiled at Vincent, and nodded at Jodi. “Of course.” she made a mental note of the cheesy beige dress Jodi was wearing, but bit her tongue, saving it for later to comment with Alex.  


Vincent climbed the box behind the cardboard and placed his head on the opening. Haley raised her camera, framing the shot as if Vincent was way bigger than he actually is. His happy face as the rabbit seemed to be glowing.  


“Talk to mayor Lewis later, he can get the prints for you.” she told Jodi as Vincent came down from the box.  


“Thanks miss Haley!” he thanked in glee.  


Jodi thanked her and immediately moved away. Haley saw Vincent immediately running to Jas, and thought back to her younger self and Alex.  


Taking pictures of the festival was her own way of small income. The mayor always payed her good for it, and she liked doing it anyway, even if most of the town didn’t really like her. She didn’t quite like them back.  


“Hey, could I get a picture too?” a voice came from the rabbit cardboard.  


Haley turned to find the farmer standing beside it. They decided to trade the ugly brown shirt for a navy blue one in which she spotted a fading stain on the bottom, but the worn pants and old boots were the same.  


“Sure.” she gestured to the bunny.  


The farmer posed as the rabbit with a soft smile on their face. Haley noted how they didn’t seem so pale anymore. Maybe the hours working on a farm had done good for their skin. A few freckles were starting to point in their nose. She took the shot, and decided she quite liked it. Their warm brown eyes were fitting for the bunny.  


The farmer came close, and the smell of dirt came with them.  


“I hope you made me look good as a rabbit.” They chuckled. Haley frowned slightly, not being fond of people that made sly comments dressed as jokes. They nervously placed their hands on their pockets, smile fading. “So, do you… do you like the egg festival? I’ve found that it divides opinions.”  


Why were they trying to talk to her again? Haley thought about telling them to go away.  


“It’s fine. I’m looking forward to the Flower Dance, though.” Haley spoke, a glint lighting up her eye.  


“What’s the Flower Dance?”  


“Celebrating spring and all that, but we get traditional dancing and Flower Queen coronation.” she answered pointedly, trying to finish the conversation.  


“Hey, Vis?” someone called from the side. Haley identified Maru’s dad.  


“Oh, hello!” the farmer waved a quick goodbye to Haley and went to the man. “Was that cave carrot what you needed?”  


Haley sighed in relief, and snapped a picture of Vincent and Jas playing together. She saw Clint staring from time to time in Emily’s direction and rolled her eyes. Clint was definitely weird, if someone asked her. She hardly ever saw him, and everytime she did he was giving his sister silent lost puppy looks, even though there wasn’t a single person in town that didn’t know her sister was happily taken. She shook her head, raising her camera again.  


Alex saw her point the camera at him, so he stuck out his tongue with a smile; he was always such a good model. She went around, taking pictures of food and everyone else - the one she took of Gus fixing his tie looked pretty incredible.  


When the mayor called for the egg hunt to begin, she saw Abigail, Maru, Jas, Vincent, Sam and the new farmer getting ready for it. She took pictures of them as they ran around searching for eggs, and as usual, Abigail was relentless and won.  


Later in the week, as the mayor was showing her the printed pictures, she noticed a really good one of the farmer laughing with Vincent as they ran for the same egg. Their smile was quite pretty.

Haley was doing her nails when she was startled by a shout in her direction.  


“Haley, hey!”  


The small jump she gave caused her nail paint to smudge and some of it to fall on the bench, and Haley had to close her eyes for a second to breathe in. The farmer was running in her direction, with a carefree smile in their face. Their clothes were particularly dirty today, and the boots were covered in dry earth. The wild hair had been cut, leaving shorter curls on top of their head but the rest too small to form properly.  


“Don’t you get tired of running around in that farm of yours all day, or whatever it is you do?” she snapped, annoyed. “I get that you don’t mind being dirty, doesn’t mean you can come here and ruin what was perfect.” she breathed, picking up the acetone to clean the mess up.  


“Oh. Hmm, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”  


Haley just wanted them to stop talking to her already, she did not need another fake interaction in her day to day. “Yeah, sure. At least you’re getting a nice tan out of it.” she pointedly stared them up and down. The smell of sweat made it to her nose.  


Their soft face closed and mouth tensed. “Yeah, okay. I’m going.”  


“I appreciate it.”

“I absolutely cannot stand that farmer.”  


“Why not?” Alex said. “They said my hair was pretty. And they always bring flowers to granny, so she absolutely adores them.”  


“I don’t trust them.” Haley answered, combing her hair. “All that nice act.”  


Alex shrugged. “Maybe they’re just nice.”  


“People are never just nice, Alex. I thought you and I were on the same page with that.”  


“Yeah, usually I’m right there with you, but I’ve never seen them ask for anything, and they’re always running around town helping everyone.”  


“Yeah, literally running.” she laughed, and Alex laughed right with her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them walk.” It made Alex laugh harder.  


“Look, all I’m saying is, you can’t just say you can’t stand them when you haven’t even known them for long.”  


“I dislike nice people, Alex, they’re always after something.” she replied. “That’s why you don’t hear me talking shit about Sam, or Abigail, or even Sebastian nowadays. They’re weird and they own it. Now Caroline? Or, I don’t know, Jodi? We all know they have something to hide.”  


Alex stayed silent, reflecting with an amused smile. “I guess. I’m not saying I trust them or anything.” he shrugged. “But there are exceptions to that rule, take Grandma, for example, or your sister.”  


“Emily doesn’t count, she’s just weird like that, with her crystal vibing. And Granny is a pure soul on this earth.”  


Alex smiled. “She really is”

When the Flower Dance finally came, Haley spent the early morning getting ready. She had bought a dress for the occasion, made the best make-up she could and did small braids around her hair. Her great-grandma would’ve been proud of her, she just knew it, she always went on and on about how your looks are always the first thing someone is going to criticize about you.  


She decided on a loose laced white dress that was slightly above her knees and flew around her, and a pink lipstick that made sure her eyes and lips would pop.  


When she came out of her room, she found Emily styling her hair, wearing a white dress that had a long skirt with pretty purple flowers sewn on them. “Pretty skirt, Ems, did you make it?”  


Her sister smiled at her. “Yes. I was inspired by the color of amethyst, it brings me so much joy.”  


“Gonna ask someone to dance with you?”  


“I’m thinking of asking Shane again, I don’t think he has a partner yet.”  


“Ugh, that guy smells like beer.” she shook her head.  


“I wish the bus to the desert could be fixed, so I could dance with Sandy.” Haley nodded, agreeing.  


“I miss Sandy. She always appreciated my outfits.”  


“Don’t I?” Emily questioned, outraged.  


“Yeah, well, you’re easy to please.” she smiled.  


They waited for Alex on Marnie’s ranch, and he showed up in a dark red suit and brown shoes, hair carefully styled with a little gel. Evelyn looked incredible with flowers on her dress and George had his usual frown, but his wife had made sure to place a tulip on his hat.  


“Hello dearies, how are you?” Evelyn asked, smiling. She was such a tiny and adorable woman and it reminded her so much of her own nana.  


“Very good, I think today is just radiating good energy, look at that sky!” Emily answered, smiling at the blue horizon and white puffy clouds. “And you Evelyn?”  


“Oh, I just love the Flower Dance. I think I did especially good with the flowers this year.”  


“You always do, dear.” George grunted in his usual harsh way, but Evelyn smiled at him, and Haley guessed that was just his tone, in the end.  


Alex placed his arms around her in a one-sided hug. “Have you been practicing the dance? Don’t want you making me look bad.”  


“I could never.” she answered, hugging him back, her arm around his waist.  


And then, as if out of nowhere, she heard “Oh, hello everyone.”  


Down from the road came the farmer. She guessed their farm was just north of Marnie’s, cause that’s where they were coming from. They had chosen a white shirt, and, this time, blue jeans that did not look half as worn as their black pants. And were those white shoes? Haley was a little taken aback, even if they had a little earth in them.  


“Oh, hey, Vis!” Emily said with a smile, and a chorus of cheery hi’s and hey’s came from the group. “Excited for the dance?”  


“I’m not much of a dancer, but who knows?” they answered with a shrug.  


“You planning on dancing with anyone, kid?” George asked. Haley was surprised by his initiation of the conversation.  


“Well… There are some people..” they toyed with their hands, clearly getting anxious. “You know. Maybe. But it depends. I’m not sure.”  


Alex laughed. “Don’t worry, it isn’t that big of a deal. I think, besides Penny and Abigail, everybody has pairs, so don’t be too bummed if you can’t get a partner.” he told them.  


Upon arriving at the Flower Dance site, Vis stopped on their tracks. “Wow. This is beautiful.”  


Evelyn chuckled a little. “Thank you dear, I worked very hard on the decoration.”  


“You did all this?” they seemed almost genuinely astounded. “I can’t decorate for my life. You did an amazing job.”  


Alex sent Haley a meaningful look, to which she just shrugged. Maybe they were just very good at pretending.  


Vis split from them to go around saying hi to everyone. Haley took her camera out and snapped a few shots of the decoration, because it was truly amazing. There were vases everywhere with different kinds of flowers that somehow all seemed to make sense together, and above their heads there were some paper origami of flowers, which Haley could guess Evelyn probably had come to Penny, Vincent and Jas for. The grass was specially green today, as if it knew it was a special day, and there were petals thrown around in what seemed to be a quite calculated way.  


She noticed that the farmer truly ran around, saying hello to everyone, and she had never seen something like it. Not even someone from Pelican Town would say hi to everyone. She’s pretty sure Pam doesn’t bother saying hi to anyone but Gus, really.  


And everyone seemed so receptive. Even Sebastian, who usually just stayed in his room the entire time and didn’t exchange a word with anyone but Abigail and Sam, didn't immediately sour when Vis approached him. Haley made sure to snap the picture. She realized how good the farmer looked. Like farmer life was what they were born to do. They did not look thin anymore, and the skin seemed like it never had been pale in their life. There were freckles dotting their cheeks and nose, and the brown locks seemed to fit, there was a loose one on the side that curled and almost reached their eye. Haley watched them find Leah and immediately spotted the difference.  


Their hands wouldn't stop toying with their shirt, and their eyes wouldn’t stay in the same place for more than a second. Leah smiled, it seemed in an apologizing way. Haley’s brain short circuited for a second. They had asked Leah to dance with them?  


She turned on her heels, staring at Alex and beelining to him. “I think the farmer just asked Leah to dance with them.”  


“Really?” Alex said, raising his head to look. “Wow, she probably turned them down, she usually dances with Elliott.”  


“They probably won’t be dancing, then.” Leah. Why Leah? The thought turned on her head.  


Actually, Haley had never seen the farmer interact with anyone, never paid attention, to see who they liked to hang out with, never bothered enough. And now, she was curious. Why did she need to be such a gossip? She thought the farmer was fake, so why did she care who they wanted to dance with?  


And why did everyone seem to be so friendly to them already? They weren’t even that friendly to her. Well, they knew each other for far too long to pretend to be friends when they had nothing in common, but still.  


As a means of distracting herself from her own thoughts, she went to practice her dance moves. The dance wasn’t exactly modern, but it had it’s charm. It made her feel like a princess, dancing an old dance in a white dress in a flower field.  


“So that’s the famous dance?” the farmer’s voice came from behind her, sounding a little uncertain. Haley turned to look, remembering what Alex had said about them.  


Haley wondered why they were still making the effort to talk to her.  


“I’m practicing my moves. I’ve been flower queen for the last five years, I don’t mean to step down from my throne just yet.”  


The farmer chuckled a little, and seemed like they wanted to say something, opening their mouth, but after a pause, what came was:  


“How do they make the choice for flower queen? ‘Cause Vincent is really upset he can’t be.”  


Haley had to fight back a smile. That kid was so precious. “You know, I have no idea? But Mayor Lewis always gives it to me, and I assume it’s dance related because I’m always the best dancer.”  


“Hm, I’ll have to pay attention, so I can tell you later if you’re biased or not.” they said with a smile, and Haley noticed the slightly nervous tone in their voice.  


Haley faltered. It hadn’t been at all threatening, but she didn’t like what they said at all. Like she did not know her own ability, was way too full of herself for saying she was the best. “What?”  


As if on cue, the mayor started calling for the dance partners to get ready, and all Vis got as a response was her slightly offended face.  


Alex showed up and offered his hand with a kind smile. She smiled back, still a little shocked by the comment. The pairs danced around each other, and Haley just knew she did best. The line stayed in her mind though, and it made her clench her teeth slightly, because so many sly comments had been made at her with shiny smiles, and she had made them herself knowing it would make the jab when needed.  


And what Vis had said, she had no idea if they meant it as a jab or as a light joke, like other things they had said before.  


After she was given the flower crown by Mayor Lewis, she searched the leaving crowd for the farmer, and almost as if promised, they made their way to her. Their hands wouldn’t stop toying with one another  


“You were right.” they said, clearing their throat a bit, and swaying on the spot “You were the best. It.. it suits you, you looked good doing it.”  


Haley raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure everyone here can dance whatever they like, but my grandparents taught me traditional dancing from the crib.”  


They smiled and laughed a bit. “It showed. I’ll.. I’ll see you around!”  


And then they left.  


Huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> starting to write this made me realize that I either don't know many words do substitute pronouns in the english language or it just has some really repetitive things in it, which made me really anxious while writing because in my language it would have felt off, but I hope you liked it


	3. Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer arrives and with it, Haley starts to notice the farmer more and has to hear some things.

It was just another really sunny day with barely any wind when Haley arrived at the beach, her flip flops throwing sand in her ankles and the sun warming her skin. She took the towel off of her bag, choosing a spot close to the trees and the ocean, where the soothing sound of waves was calming and there was a nearby shadow if she wanted to escape the sun. She saw Willy in the distance with his fishing rod, and wondered for a second if fishing sounded fun - and the conclusion was as quick as the thought, it didn’t. She took out her camera, and after a moment of framing, took the shot.

A lonely form on the distance in a wooden pier, surrounded by the ocean. The feeling seemed to resonate within her.

“Hey! Enjoying the sun?” a voice approached her, and she noticed the sound of footsteps on the sand.

Raising her head and looking toward the sound, she saw the farmer arriving. Vis. Spring had come and gone, and that name was still on everybody’s lips. Today, they had a sword strapped to their back, their usual brown shirt tied around their waist and was wearing only a white tank top, the usual blue bandana tied around the neck was around the arm, and they wore some short jeans in lieu of pants. The short brown locks of hair were pushed back by their hand.

“Clearly.” she answered. Now that they were closer, Haley could smell sweat and that underground air, and the splashes of slime on their hands and clothing were visible. Ugh. 

She thought she saw a discreet roll of eyes, but maybe she was just imagining things.

“I…” they started, and swayed a bit on the spot. “I thought you might like this.” The farmer said, putting forward a sunflower. 

Her heart exploded. “Really?” she stared at her favorite flower, stunned in surprise. A smile wanted to creep in her face, but she held back. “That’s my favorite. How did you know?”

“Emily told me the other day.” they shrugged.

“Well. Thank you.” Haley said, not knowing what to do exactly, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of saying how beautiful that sunflower was and how much she did love them.

"It's nothing.” They shook their head, a shy smile on their faces. “I’ll see you later!”

And then they walked off to the pier, as if nothing had happened. 

Why was it that they kept coming back, when Haley had been trying her best to push them off? She did not want more people in her life who were going to leave, who only wanted something from her. That had already happened enough. And still, there they were, bringing yet another flower.

She smiled at the flower, yellow, bright and happy. If Haley stared for a bit too long at the leaving figure, watching the muscle move with their arms, she would never admit it to herself. 

Haley watched Emily on the sewing machine, a piece of white-almost-transparent cloth in it.

“What are you doing?” Haley asked, eyebrow raised.

“I’m making this cape-like beach attire.” Emily answered, focused. “You know, so we can leave the house with our beach clothing, but still be covered. When we reach the beach, just take it off.” she looked up, smiling at her sister.

“So like a beach yoke.” 

“Kind of. But I liked the word cape better.” Emily shrugged. “And mine is wearable, a beach yoke is mostly so you can lay on the beach.” 

“Okay, whatever you say.” Haley rolled her eyes with a tiny smile, and left the house to meet Alex by the beach, so they both could enjoy the sun and the warm sand. Maybe Alex would go swimming, to exercise.

Her sandals clapped against the stone pavement, and when she was just starting to reach the beach, two figures caught her attention.

“Hey, CATCH!” she heard Alex yell.

A carefree laugh and claps followed.

“Nice one!”

It was the farmer. They were wearing a loose white tank top and light green shorts, the blue cloth again on the arm instead of the neck. They had Alex’s ball on their hands, and threw it back to her friend, which caught it with a big smile on his face.

Haley approached, seeing them speak excitedly with each other.

“I didn’t know you played!” Alex exclaimed. “You should have told me, we could have been playing for so long now!”

The farmer laughed, catching the ball Alex threw again. “My dad loves gridball, so he taught me a thing or two.” 

“A wise man.” Alex agreed, nodding. “I want to be a professional player someday. I used to be a star quarterback in high school.”

“I think you’ve got it in you.” The farmer nodded, throwing the ball back. “I mean, all I see you do is practice.”

“Hi Alex.” Haley announced herself, coming closer.

“Oh, hey Haley!” Alex greeted, hugging her.

The farmer smiled at her, waving. Haley noticed the muscles on their arm, and took her eyes off of it immediately.

“Having fun?”

“Did you know Vis can play a little gridball?” Alex said excitedly. 

“It was fun, playing with you.” they laughed, picking up the pots that were thrown to the side. “I gotta go, I was planning on fishing a little today. Bye Haley, nice seeing you.”

Haley nodded at them, and they took off to the pier. Alex and her made their way to the usual spot by the side of the beach, laying down on the towels; the sun was specially harsh today.

“We’re going to get such nice tans this summer.” Haley sighted, smiling. The ocean breeze was refreshing against the strong sunlight.

“Summer is definitely the superior season.” Alex agreed, hands behind his head and eyes closed. “How are you feeling today?”

Haley breathed in deeply, the smell of nature filling her nose. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

“You can talk about it with me, you know.”

“I know.” Haley said, holding his hand. “I just rather not. If they haven’t sent a second letter in two years… I want to not care about it as they don’t.”

“Look, when my mom died, I wanted to pretend it was fine, that I was strong, but it didn’t matter in the end. We all suffer the same.”

“Your mom loved you. With all her heart, from what you tell me.” Haley sighed, raising herself in a sitting position, and rubbing her hands against her face. “My parents, they… Well, you know how it was, with Emily and all that. And now, going on travels and never sending word except for this one letter with presents? I guess it’s their way of leaving.”

Alex stayed silent, and Haley appreciated it. She did not like talking about her parents very much, even if they hadn’t been outright mean to her in her life. They had taken care of her, and fed her, sent her to school, given her presents on her birthday, and still… Emily with her eccentric ways and cloth sewing. No matter that Haley loved clothes, Emily made them! No matter that Haley loved photography, Emily painted! Liked gemstones when Haley loved makeup! Haley was way too much like Elizabeth, and mom and her grandma did not have a very good relationship, while Emily was the embodiment of everything she loved in their dad. 

Alex noticed the heavy quietness, and went for the craziest suggestion he could think off.

“You know, with this nice weather, I bet we could organize a small gridball game. I bet I could convince Sam, and he would get Sebastian and Abigail to come, for sure. Leah likes the outside, maybe she would be up for it too, and now that Vis is here, they’re probably up for it too. We have six people! You can referee, I know you don’t like sports that much.

“Oh, I love sports. Watching people play them, for sure.”

Alex gave her a mischievous smile. “That’s the spirit.”

“Anyways, I don’t think they would be up to it. I’m pretty sure Sebastian lowkey dislikes you and actively hates me, sam as their friends, and we haven’t traded more than 3 words with Leah since she came to Pelican Town, we know nothing about her.” 

Alex stared at the sky for a second, thoughtful “Yeah. I guess.” the usual carefree smile coming back. “At least I have Vis to play with me now. I’m gonna have to start disagreeing with you on them being fake.”

Haley watched the pier, seeing Willy beside Vis, as they both fished in the silent ocean. The wind swept their curly hair, and made the loose clothes float around them. Haley bit the inside of her cheek.

“Yeah, whatever.” and layed down again.

The sound of loud music coming from the beach had reached their house. Emily was wearing her newly made cape-like beach yoke, and her hair was tied in a ponytail, she was smiling widely as she looked in the mirror. “This was such a good job.” 

“It suits you.” Haley agreed. The almost transparent cloth fit in nicely with her hair. They left the house, making their way to the Luau.

She herself just put on a pair of jeans shorts and the top of her blue bikini that matched her eyes. Her hair was tied back in a bun, and the summer breeze was refreshing, hitting her neck.

“Hey Abigail, Caroline, Pierre!” Emily said, as the family made their way to the beach and they ran into each other. “How are you doing today?”

“I’ve separated a really special ingredient for the soup. I’m sure the Governor will love it.” Pierre said. Haley was sure she had never seen the man talk about anything other than business.

“Emily I’m loving this cape thing you’ve got going on.” Abigail said, touching the fabric.

“I could make one for you! Just tell me which color you’d like.”

“Probably purple.” Abigail said with a wink. “But I’ll think about it. Lately I’ve been leaning into blue a little bit…” she said, in a conspiratorial tone. Emily stopped in her tracks for a second.

“Really?!” she said in conspiratorial tone.

The blue bandana in Vis’ arm immediately sprung into her mind, and Haley wondered if that was what Abigail was referring too. Or Emily’s hair, it could be that too. But why would she be interested in Vis? From every conversation they had, she couldn’t remember Vis talking about her a single time, and even saying anything that remotely resembled Abigail’s tastes. Not that she spoke to them a lot.

Abigail stayed in her room playing video games and liked dark colors and gloomy things, like cemeteries and rain. Vis just seemed, she guessed, lighter than that. She couldn’t see how that would fit. Well, she didn’t know them that well, but still.

“...coming out of the mines. I wonder how many adventures they go on.” Haley realized she had tuned out of the conversation. 

And by the sound of it, she had been right on her guess about blue. 

“Hey Abby!” Sam called when they reached the beach, and Sebastian waved at them.

“Hey everyone.” Emily answered after Abigail hugged them both.

Haley merely nodded in the direction of them, and they barely nodded back. 

And as if summoned by their earlier conversation, a certain farmer appeared in the circle, saying hi to everyone. Haley noticed how all the eyes were immediately on them.

“Abby you are never going to guess; I made it to the second level of Prairie King!”  
“No way?! What did you do?”

“I died at least three times.” they laughed. “And pressed a lot of buttons; I was just lucky with the powers they dropped, but then I died very quickly.” they shook their head. “Oh, and Sebastian, I found a frozen tear in the mines yesterday, Sam told me you love them.”

“I do.” the gloomy man said with a small smile. “Thanks Vis, this is the best.” he said, accepting the gift gratefully. 

Haley left the circle to go near the dance floor, where she spotted Alex. It was way too hot to be dancing right now, but Robin and Demetrius were having their fun, while she and her friend just stood in the shallow part, where the waves would wash over their feet.

“So I see you came in with Abigail.” he nodded in her direction, a curious expression. 

“Oh, we ran into Pierre and Caroline and her on the way here. I swear, her hair is in dire need of some hydration. She could at least take better care of it, because she paints it.” 

“You should open a salon. Everyone here cuts their hair at home, and you know how to do all that shit incredibly. I’ve noticed your nails and make up, besides your amazing hairstyles, babe, I know you do Emily's hair.”

“That’s so nice of you, babe.” she played around. “I could, I guess. Who knows.”

They played around a little, and watched Pierre place his item in the soup. The governor eyed everything and Mayor Lewis would not leave his side, probably pestering him about how the Valley was Incredible and the soup would be great. 

And, annoyingly, her eyes always seemed to find the farmer, because now she needed to know. She needed to know what was behind all that niceness and being friends with everyone, giving gifts. What was it that they really wanted from the valley, because if there was something she learned in Zuzu City, it was that city people were always expecting something in return, just like her great-grandma had said.

(At least she guessed Vis came from the big city.)

And yet, there they were, spinning around the beach in that fast step of theirs. She saw them stop to talk to Leah, on something that got them both laughing; saw them talking to Maru and her showing them some notes she had made; introducing themselves to the governor too; going slightly to the side to speak with this old bearded guy she guessed was the weirdo that lived in the mountains, and high fiving Vincent on something. Even Jas, usually more quiet and shy, cracked a small smile to them. 

What was it?

“I’m gonna take some pics for the Mayor. I’ll come back later.” she said, and Alex smiled, joining his grandparents. 

Camera in hand, the first one she snapped was one of Mayor Lewis and the governor shaking hands, which they happily posed for. The next one, she took of Demetrius and Robin having their fun on the dance floor, because she liked the way it seemed like there were only the two of them in their world.

She ran around, capturing Marnie stirring the big soup, Sam trying to throw food inside his own mouth and Sebastian quietly judging him, Vincent and Jas playing in the waves, Maru and Penny trying to make a sandcastle the kids had left for them, and Leah coming their way to help.

Haley liked photography for what it was: a way of seeing someone else’s life without actually being in it, without giving people the chance to fuck her over or merely use her. Without giving people the chance to break her.

She took a picture of Alex behind George’s wheelchair and Evelyn beside him, the two smiling at each other and George existing. She moved her lenses and found Vis. They were on the dancefloor, right beside Emily, who had been dancing alone a few minutes prior.

She wouldn't have called them a dancer, but there was something adorable on the way they were swinging from side to side, trying to keep up with Emily, who actually knew some dance moves. She took the picture.

She stared at the pictures from a last year fashion magazine wondering what exactly had been going on in her head to think they actually looked stunning in those outfits. Thinking back, it always happened, and she would always dispose of her outfits from the year prior. 

Well, it’s not like she didn’t like renewing her wardrobe, she loved it, so she didn’t mind it at all. But now, looking at it, she could see that there were some outfits she enjoyed, and others that she merely chose for the status that came with it.  
Well. Something to think about in the future.

Her stomach grumbled, and she got up from her bed to go to the kitchen. The watch on the wall told her it was almost time to go meet Alex to keep him company in the ice cream stand, so she decided for a jelly sandwich before heading out. Opening the fridge, she found the strawberry one Emily had bought, so she tried opening it.

The jar lid didn’t even move. Haley frowned, trying it again, but the results didn’t change.

“What the hell?”

She pushed a little harder, but mostly her hand moved, without making the lid open. She stood in silence for a second, staring unbelievingly at the jar, and then tried again, with all the strength her arms could muster for as long as she could. 

Motherfucking stupid jelly jar. How was something like that that hard to open? Who had designed such a stupidly hard jar that couldn't be opened and therefore couldn’t be eaten?

She placed the jelly on top of the counter, breathing deeply. Well, she could just get some ice cream with Alex later, cause eating bread with nothing wasn’t exactly tasty, and Emily hadn't bought butter the last time she went shopping. She picked it up again, to give it another shot.

She heard the sound of the door being opened, jumping slightly and looking at it from beside the fridge; she could spot a familiar ugly brown shirt. “Emily, hey, I brought….” Vis took a look around. “Oh. Hm, hi Haley. I’m looking for Emily.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I could tell. She’s in Caroline’s house right now.”

“Really?” They asked, looking puzzled. “Sorry to bother you, I brought her the quartz she requested.” they continued, showing the shiny stone in her hand.

“I’ll tell her you came by.” Haley said, jelly jar still in her hand. “Just leave it there.”

Vis’ eyes went from her face to the jar, but didn’t say a thing. They shook the quartz, as if to prove it was there, and placed it on the center table.

“Ok then, I’m gonna go. Bye.” and then they turned around to leave.

“Wait.” she gave up. She could use the help. Alex had said that Vis just helped everyone in town and never asked for anything back, time to test that theory. “I can’t get this stupid jar open… you work on a farm, you gotta be a little strong, right?”

They stood still at the door, surprised by the question, mouth hanging a little open. “Yeah, I guess.”

Walking towards the kitchen, Haley noticed how their moves were now much more confident, striding with their head high and full cheeks. They took the jar out of her hands, testing the lid, before finally putting strength behind it.

Haley’s breath was caught in her throat for a little, watching the concentration in their face, the muscles twitching in their arm and their tongue peaking out of their mouth. But she kept quiet.

A pop rang out in the kitchen. The jelly jar had finally been opened, and Haley went back to breathing normally. Honestly, what was going on with her?

“You’re stronger than you look.” She teased, trying to get her head back in the game. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” they answered, scratching the back of their head. When Haley said nothing, they nodded and said “Well, I gotta go. Hope that sandwich is good, bye!”

And they were off again. Haley was left thinking about how every interaction they had ended with the farmer literally sprinting off to do whatever it is they did the entire day. She sat down by the table, spreading jelly on the bread. Now that she had requested something from them, she could see how long it took for them to ask for something back.

As she left the house, Leah was just walking by, and, spotting her, waved, a bit uncertain.

“Hey Haley! I was just thinking about you.”

Weird. Why was that? “Hey. Uh, why? I don’t even know you.”

Leah seemed to breathe in for a second. “That picture you took of me helping Maru and Penny with the sandcastle, Mayor Lewis showed it to us. It’s really pretty, I loved it.”

Oh. “Oh.” that was not at all what she was expecting. “Thanks.”

“Yeah. Well, bye.” she said, waving again and picking up the pace, going to Pierre’s. Haley was left surprised in front of her own house, processing the compliment. Usually she would just take the film to Mayor Lewis and he did his thing to print everything, she didn think that he would go around showing them to everyone, well, the ones she had taken without being asked by the person. Never really thought about it, really.

Walking towards the ice cream, she found the town’s doctor speaking with Alex, paying for an ice cream.

“Thanks, doc. Don’t worry, I won’t push anymore.” Alex said with a wink. Harvey laughed nervously and strolled off, murmuring a hello when he passed by her.

“What were you pushing, mister?” Haley said in lieu of a greeting, eyebrow raised.

“Weight lifting. I started having pains because I think I was lifting way more than I could take, and Harvey took a look at my back.” Alex chuckled, staring at the leaving doctor. “He came by to see how I was doing, really sweet guy.”

Haley’s eyebrow raised impossibly higher, a malicious smile springing in her lips. “Really?” she said in a teasing tone.

“He got really nervous when I took my shirt off.” Alex smiled even bigger then. They cracked up laughing. 

Then, they noticed the town's one and only bat man arriving. When he noticed them, his expression clearly soured. Sebastian seemed resigned, taking the money from his pocket.

“Can I have a mint one, please?”

Haley felt the urge to tease, but Alex’s ready response shut her up. “Yeah, just a sec.” He scooped the ice cream and placed it in the cone, giving it to him with a professional smile. “It’ll be 250 gold.”

“Here. Thanks.” he answered, dry as ever, taking the ice cream. Haley wondered if he bought it for Sam, because she didn’t see him take a single lick at it.

“What was that smile, my friend?” She nudged Alex, sitting behind him in the stand.

“Well, it’s been a long time.” he shrugged. “People move on, maybe he has, I don’t know.”

Haley raised a brow, doubting it strongly. They bickered back and forth on it, and it was still going when Penny came around, leaving Vincent and Jas behind.

“Hey guys.” she said, uncertain. “Can I get two ice creams, please?”

Alex raised a brow. Haley wondered if she disliked ice cream. “Yeah sure, what flavor?

“Do you have chocolate and cream? It’s their favorite.” she pointed to the kids playing around the tree trunk in front of the library.

“Of course, hang on.” 

He gave them to her with a sweet smile, and then she left. Haley spoke up again. “I didn’t know Harvey was interested.”

“I don’t think he is.” Alex laughed. “Probably just a little bi disaster. He was eyeing Maru very shyly when I came in.”

“Wow, speaking of coming in, you’re never going to guess who barged into my house today.”

Alex frowned, thinking. “Elliott?”

“What? No, I don’t even know Elliott.”

“Well, the way you said it made me think it would be the most random person ever.”

“I think the most random person to enter my house would be Pierre.” she said, after a moment of reflection.

“Pierre barged into your house?!” his eyes went wide and mouth hung open.

“No, Yoba no, Vis did.” 

Alex seemed to calm down. “So it wasn’t that random, I’ve seen Vis talking to Emily around town a lot, and they always try talking to you, even if you shut them out every time.”

Haley shot him a dirty look. “I’ve told you, I dislike befriending people. It’s pointless and always ends up bad.”

“We didn’t end up bad.” he pointed, supporting himself on the stand.

“We met as kids, it doesn’t count. Non-kids suck.”

“You know, you always say that, but your way of shutting people out kinda sucks too.” he replied, pleading a little with his eyes. “Vis never did anything to you, and yet you’re always rude to them somehow.”

“Not always.” she retorted, a little offended. “ Besides, I don’t want them getting ideas, any of them.” She thought Alex understood.

“I know that. All I’m saying is you don’t have to be rude to keep people at a distance, and don’t even give them the chance to prove you wrong.”

“Well you do the same.” she pointed at him, finger touching his chest.

“I’m just confident in my skills. If anyone reads that as rude it’s their problem. And I don’t push people out.” he shrugged. “I’m not saying you’re wrong in what you do Haley, I’m just telling you to think about it.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

And she went home.

It was a necessity. She thought back to all her nana had taught her, all her life had taught her. Being nice got her cheated, got her backstabber friends, and some of the last lessons her nana had for her were about how people would only be there through fear. 

The reason she had been so close to her great-grandmother in the first place was because she liked dressing up and her family didn’t quite appreciate it, and her nana taught her so much about it, and about life, while everyone else quietly thought of her as shallow. But nana understood, and told her that appearance was one of the things that made people respect you.

She thought of Vis, uncaring and in an ugly outfit, but with a bright smile; confident in their own way.

The only time in her life she had gotten something was when she started putting her nana’s lesson about fear to use. People were there for her, and wanted to be her friend, and wanted to be her, scared of what it might feel like not to be, even if she didn't open up to them. They wanted what she had, and what she could get them, and how she made them feel special.

That’s why she decided she didn’t want anybody else. She was fine, with Alex and the weird conversations she would have from time to time with Emily. It was basically a natural response by now, scaring people away. 

“Emily, do you think I’m a bitch?”

Her sister looked up, taken aback by the question. “What?”

“A bitch. Do you think I’m a bitch?”

“Of course not. Why would you think so?”

“Alex told me I’m rude to anyone without a reason. He isn’t wrong.”

Emily was silent for a second, and then she put the book she was reading down.

“I…” she seemed to think about what she was going to say for a second. “I think great-grandma did a number on you. And that you were hurt. Not that you’re a bitch.”

Her brain short circuited for a second. “You think great-grandma did _what_?” her voice raised, and an angry expression made itself known in her face. 

Emily bit her lip. “Great-grandma was a very harsh woman, and had a very hard life, and the things she taught you, I mean, you were just a kid.”

“You…” Haley stared at Emily, seeing that she was being nothing but honest. “How _dare_ you talk about her like that. I’m not broken today because of her, she prepared me for what was to come and what to expect.”

“She told you everyone was a monster after you, and that’s not true at all.”

“Actually, it is, since it’s basically what happened my entire life!” 

Emily seemed like she wanted to say more, but she looked down. “I don’t mean to hurt you, maybe we should talk about this another time.”

“Or not at all.” she snapped, turning and locking the door to her room. 

Breath was not coming easy at all. 

The candlelight turned the beach into a more romantic spot, joined with the sound of the waves and the animal noise everywhere. Emily had headed off earlier, as they had been avoiding each other lately (Haley. Haley had been avoiding her.). The romantic mood wasn’t working for her, really. 

She spotted Alex already in the pier, trying to see the first moonjellies. She approached him slowly, unsure of what his reaction would be.

“Hi.” she said, meekly.

He turned, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, talking to me again?” 

“I’m sorry.” she said, head down. “I don’t deal well with criticism, it makes me feel like I’m being persecuted.” she rambled, and Alex just held his place, arms crossed in his chest. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you or gave you the cold shoulder. You weren’t wrong, after all.”

Alex breathed in deeply. “I know why you do what you do, babe. All I said was that maybe you should give people a chance. Maybe I could have expressed myself better, but still.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

He pulled her in for a hug. “You’re forgiven. I’m glad you’re talking to me again.”

“Me too. I love you, you know?”

“I love you too. I also noticed you didn’t come with Emily; care to explain?”

“I kind of fought with her too, the day you and I fought.” she looked down, shrugging.

“You were on fire that day, huh.” his eyes were wide, teasing her a little. 

“She said some mean things about my great-grandma. I may or may not have snapped at her.”

“You should apologize to her too, you know she loves you.”

“Doesn’t make what she said any less rude.”

“What did she say?”

“That she was a harsh woman that ‘did a number on me’” she air quoted. “Most of my family didn’t like her anyways, and most of my family doesn’t like me, so.”

“Hmm.” He didn’t answer and stared at the dark ocean again, like he had something in mind. “Oh shit, mayor Lewis just sent the boat. They’re coming!”

Haley realized she forgot her camera. Goddammit. 

And then she noticed Vis sitting with their legs hanging in the air. They were alone, mostly, just staring off at the sea, and the blue cloth was held softly in their hands.

When the glowing moonjellies arrived, the eerie glow gave a magical feeling to the beach and the ocean, and she saw it reflecting on their face. Closed off, as if lost in thought, watching the baby jellies rolling around as the older ones floated with the currents. 

She wished she had brought her camera, to have a peek at the farmer's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's this piece of clothing that's called "saída de praia" that people use to go to the beach but I have no idea what's the name for it in english, so I just went with a cape like attire.... 
> 
> I don't think this is great? I have always had a hard time writing feelings and instrospection and it's different from what I usually write for myself, but I've been giving it a shot, so I hope it's not as terrible as I think it is, cause it's sort of important. Pushing myself out there, making an effort an all that!


	4. Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haley starts to feel _things_ and starts to deal with it.

That morning, she opened up her jewelry box and picked up her great-grandma’s bracelet. 

Usually, she would not wear it anywhere, specially because it was mostly old and didn’t match anything she had, and she knew her nana would never have approved of it. But today, it was necessary. She clipped it around her arm, feeling a tug at her chest as she breathed in deeply. Her body trembled.

When she left her room, Emily was still having breakfast, and looked up, instantly noticing the old piece of adornment in her arm. They still hadn’t been really speaking to each other. 

“Hey.” Emily greeted.

“I’m going to the beach today.”

“I know.” she answered, a tentative smile creeping her lips. “Have some breakfast first, it’s the most important meal of the day.” Emily tried, showing the full table.

Haley really didn’t feel like spending this specific morning around Emily, so she just shook her head and took the coat on top of the couch. 

It was a burgundy overcoat, and she wore black boots and a blue dress underneath it. It wasn’t cold enough yet that she had to use heavier clothing, even if it was windy. A strong gust of wind shook her coat and dress when she left the house, so she placed her hands in her pockets and made the small track to the beach.

It was quiet that day. No one really went there that much during Fall, and Willy and Elliott usually stayed in their own homes or went to town. She pushed her hands further in her pockets when another gust of wind hit, closing the coat in the front.

She stared at the sea. The beach had been her great-grandma’s favorite spot in this town, after she had only moved here following their great-grandfather. Maybe Haley had inherited that love, because even as a kid, before knowing Zuzu City, the beach had been her favorite spot too, and they spent a lot of time together there.

The wind picked up and changed directions, throwing her hair in her face. Haley pushed it back, locking it behind her ears as best as she could. She moved to the back of the beach, close to the trees, where the wind wasn’t as strong and she could shield herself in the vegetation.

She sat in the sand, thinking about her relationship with her great-grandmother. Emily’s words to her inevitably made their way to her brain and all she could do was angrily stare off into the horizon. How dare she. How could she see it like that? Easy for her to say, when their mom and dad had always been there for her and supported her. 

She remembered being young and interested in dressing up and looking pretty and how her nana had immediately taken her under her wing, when the rest of them just preferred not to pay that much attention. It wasn’t her great-grandmother's fault that people sucked, she just made sure Haley knew it before it could hurt her more deeply. And even she couldn’t have predicted it all. 

What did it matter anyways? She’d been dead for so long, most of what she said Haley couldn’t even remember. Her life had made her, not her great-grandmother. She had only been there at the beginning, trying to ease it up for her.

She took her hands off of her pockets, fidgeting with the bracelet in her wrist and breathed in deeply. She missed her great-grandmother, somehow. She did not have many memories of her, even if some of the things she said would always come back to her. She couldn’t remember her face, but she thought about the feeling she had: that she was the most beautiful woman of all times, always dressed sharp and elegantly, the way she had been devoted to their great-grandfather's memory. Haley never met him.

She got up again. This time, she made her way to the pier, unlike she usually did, being called to the soothing sound of waves and the immenseness of the ocean. Her hair started bothering her again, so she took a hairband from her wrist to tie it up in a bun as best as she could. 

Haley shook her dress, taking the sand that had stuck to it out, and proceeded to sit on the edge of the pier. She wondered why everyone in her family disliked her nana so much. All anyone had ever told her was that she and her mom didn’t have a very nice relationship with each other, she could guess why; her mom was nothing like her. Emily had always been close to their parents, it made sense she would think nana had manipulated her somehow.

The truth is, no matter how weird or different Emily was, Haley loved her. She would make fun of her, and toy with the fact that maybe they weren’t even related, but she was _her_ sister, and she loved her; she knew Emily loved her too. Emily had even been the one to show her photography as something to like. 

“That way you can remember how pretty you look in that outfit.” She had told her, snapping a picture with their family camera. They were so young.

She was going to apologize to her sister, she knew she had to. Just not yet, and not today. She knew Emily just wanted her to be well, even if she didn’t understand. They didn’t really understand each other very well, or maybe they did but could never be like the other. Haley had always wondered what the hell made Emily act the way she did She wasn’t one to talk about her life with her sister, but Emily was always an open book to her, and with all she knew her sister had been through, she wondered why she still was the way she was. Open. Big smiles and kind words. She touched her wrist again, ready to fidget with the bracelet.

Except it wasn’t there.

She froze for a second, looking down at her arm, not finding it there. The wind picked up, and her heart started racing. No. No no no. Her hands were shaking as she retook the steps in the pier, looking for it, but found nothing.

She breathed in deeply, but it didn’t help that much. _No_.

Her eyes were locked in the sand as she returned to the back of the beach, but there wasn’t a single sign of it. Strands of her hair snapped out of the hairband and tickled her face. This couldn't be. She crouched down, moving the sand around, trying to find anything, but it was almost as if she couldn't see, as if her hair was shielding her vision, or maybe it was her own nervousness. Her breathing was loud now.

She retraced her steps to the pier, and saw nothing. There were tears in her eyes now. She had lost it.

The one gift from her nana that stayed. Clothes she had grown off, and children’s books she had lost with time, a comb that snapped in half and didn’t have it’s teeth anymore, but not this one bracelet she had given her, not long before she died. Her breathing and tears came fast, and she sat down hugging her own knees. No no no.

“Haley?” a small voice came from behind her.

She whipped around faster than a wheel, surprised at the interruption. No one really came here in the fall.

It was Vis. Their face was soft, and worried at the same time. They were wearing a hoodie on top of the ugly brown shirt, and the usual worn pants, but today they had these weird light blue boots on their feet, and the blue bandana was back on their neck. There was a fishing rod in one hand and box on the other. 

Haley didn’t answer them. 

“Is everything okay?” they tried again, taking a tentative step in her direction.

Haley almost threw venom with her eyes. She saw the farmer's jaw lock. “Clearly.”

A small smile creeped in their face, and Haley kind of wanted to slap it off. “Can I help with something?” they tried again, hands furiously toying with one another. She noticed the splashes of water and mud in their pants.

“I lost a bracelet.” she said simply, expecting the laugh of dismissal that would come with it. _How shallow, Haley, it’s just a piece of clothing_.

“Here on the beach?” they asked, looking around as if searching for it.

Haley’s brain processed the question slowly. Tears were still falling from her eyes, but she wasn’t sobbing silently anymore, merely trying to figure the farmer out. It had been a while since the jar situation, and nothing had been said after it, in fact, they barely talked to her that much, and now this.

“Yes.” she answered, slowly, and Vis looked back at her. “I came in wearing it, but now it’s gone. I don’t know what happened.” her heart felt squished, and a small sob escaped her throat, but she quickly wiped her tears. “It was unique.”

The farmer stared at her for a moment, as if processing her, and Haley looked away, uncomfortable with being seen by basically a stranger in a moment like this.

“I’ll help you look.” they said finally, with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll find it.”

And they turned around, walking around the beach with their eyes trained on the sand. “Where did you walk?” they asked, not looking in her direction.

Haley didn’t answer, stunned in the spot. She could not believe their disposition, and had no faith in the farmer finding the bracelet, and the thought of it turning into an underwater treasure made her heart clench again. The last thing of her great-grandma’s, lost to the ocean on the beach she loved so much. How ironic. Tears came again.

“Haley?” the farmer called again, getting her attention.

“The trees back there.” she wiped them, getting up from the sand. She knew her voice was shaky and hated it. “And then I came here, to the pier. But I've checked it.”

“Okay.” they thought for a second. “Did you check the shallow shore? Maybe it fell there.” 

And immediately went boots deep into the water to look. It had to be freezing. What was it that passed inside that stupid farmer’s head? They were going to get sick with those wet freezing feet.

“Vis, you don’t…” she tried, but then they pushed their hoodie’s sleeves up and grabbed something in the sea.

“Is this it?” they asked, hopeful. In their hands, a golden bracelet encrusted with an emerald. Haley’s heart started practicing gymnastics as she was paralized at the sight of the farmer with it in hand. Her mouth hung open. “I’m gonna guess it is.” they said, smiling and stepping out of the water. 

The squishy sound the boots made didn’t register, not even the dirt smell and the slightly stained clothes. Haley pulled them in for a hug, and tightened her arms around them.

“Thank you.” she said in a whisper, her breathing easier now, even if still strong, and the trembling was fading. 

Vis didn’t react at first, hands frozen in the air, probably a little surprised at the huge contact she had just initiated. But after a beat of two, they closed their arms around Haley and rested their head against hers. “Don’t worry, it was nothing. I think I get the feeling.” they said with a tiny laugh. Haley felt warm.

Haley let go of the hug quickly, and wiped away the rest of the tears. She took the bracelet from the farmer’s hand and placed it in her pocket. “What, hm, what do you mean?”

They gave a tug at the bandana in their neck. “My grandpa gave this to me. I’m sure my reaction would’ve been the same if I lost it.” they chuckled, and then a soft, thoughtful silence fell over them.

After a minute, Haley spoke up. “My great-grandmother gave it to me.” she said, breathing in deeply. “She died when I was very young, but she basically raised me.”

“I'm sorry." they started, swaying the items in their hands. "My grandad died about… twenty years ago.” the farmer said, staring off into the ocean. “He was very sick for a while, I was really young too. But he was the one that showed me how to care for nature. I should’ve guessed he had been a farmer. He was the one that left the farm to me.” they said, smiling at a memory. 

“My great-grandma taught me about dressing up.” she blurted out. It felt natural, after Vis shared a bit of their life. “All about color schemes and what to wear with what. Makeup tips too.” Haley laughed, thinking back to it. “It’s her death’s anniversary, today, actually.”

Vis bit their lips, and swayed in the spot for a bit. “I’m going fishing now, if you want some company. Maybe you can tell me about her.”

Haley was surprised at the offer. After everything that had happened, there they were, extending an olive branch. She thought of Alex’s words. “Yeah.” Yeah. “Okay.”

“Doesn’t talking scare the fish away?” Haley asked, once they were sitting down at the pier.

“Not sure.” Vis said, shrugging and throwing the line in the sea. “Contrary to popular belief, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. This farm just fell on my lap and I had to wing it.”

“It sure seems to be doing good.” Haley retorted.

“My grandpa did teach me a thing or two, like I said.” They smiled at her. Her stomach did a thing. “He never told me he was a farmer. He gave me this letter when he knew his time was coming, and told me that I could only open it when I got tired of the world; it told me about the farm.”

“Funny, my nana gave me the bracelet when her time was coming too.”

“Tell me about her.” the farmer prompted, looking at her, when the line gave a tug. “Oh shit.” they started pulling, and after a little struggle, the fish was being raised into the air. “Sardine again. Oh well.” they shrugged, throwing her a knowing smile, as if she was supposed to understand. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Tell me about your grandpa first.” Haley said, as if daring them. She wasn’t about to go spilling about her childhood. 

The farmer didn’t seem to catch onto the daring tone. “Okay. He was really kind. Always helping everyone in our building when he could. He started living with us when I was really, really tiny. I don’t remember a time he wasn’t there.” they smiled, lost in memories. “He went with me to the shelter when I wanted to adopt a dog. We named him Brownie because he was such a sweet and had brown fur.” a chuckle escaped their lips. “He raised some flowers with me, so our apartment was full of plants that we took care of together. He was the one that taught me to pay attention to the needs of others. ‘You never know what people might need, or what they’ve been through’. he would say. It was about people, but applied to plants and animals too.”

Haley listened to the story with a nudging thought in her mind. Their grandpa, in some ways, had interacted with Vis in the same way she did with her great-grandma. Vis jumped a bit when another fish bit the line. 

Doing things they both enjoyed, together. Teaching things. But the lessons had been so different, and Vis seemed to be doing so fine. Everyone in town loved them, apparently, and they went around helping everyone and not asking for anything back, being nothing but kind to them. Even to her.

“Why did you open the letter?” she asked, curious as to what had brought this person to their breaking point, to losing faith in the world, when all she knew about them was smiles and kindness. 

“I wasn’t in a good place, back in Lala city.” they said, not offering anything more. Huh. “And your great-grandmother?”

Haley felt more at ease. “She was a very fancy woman. Always dressed like a queen.”

“I see where you get that from, then.” The farmer nudged her with their shoulder.

If Haley’s cheeks reddened, neither of them made a comment. “She told me a lot about life, too. What to expect from people and how to get what you want.” 

“Oh, and what is it that you always expect from people?” they said, then jumped when the line tugged. It was only seaweed “Fuck.” they sweared in a low voice.

“The worst.” she smiled, as if telling a joke. A small frown made a way into the farmers brows as they stared at the sea. “People always want something from you, so that’s why you gotta shield up and put them in their place.”

They were silent, and Haley just let it be. Her family always had a problem with her nana’s ways, it was no surprise other people would too.

“That sounds lonely.” the farmer said, instead of the reprieve she had been expecting.

“It was lonely when I gave people a chance.” She shot back, shrugging. “Giving them a chance got me knives in the back and a lot of gossip.”

“Huh.” they said, nodding. “I guess I never thought of it that way.”

“You’ve never experienced that?” Haley said unbelievingly.

“Well, yeah, but you know, people are people.” they said, shrugging. Something caught in the line and they started spinning the rod’s handle. A brown fish came out of the water. “Oh fuck yeah!” they celebrated, placing the fish on the box full of ice beside them. “Anyways, everyone is just getting by, right? Most of the time, people just do what they’re expected to do. If you’re always expecting the worst of them, maybe you never gave them a chance and they didn’t even see a point in trying.” they said, putting the rod down. 

Haley didn’t say anything. She was tired of this subject. 

And yet. 

“I’m not saying people aren’t shitty for stupid reason, ‘cause Yoba knows I’ve had enough situations like that, but well, what are you gonna do? Just never let anyone in your life, ever, because of some?” They joked. _Yes_ , Haley thought; and yet there they were, slowly breaking down her barriers. 

When Haley didn’t say anything in return, they went on: “Anyways, I gotta go. I had been searching for this Tilapia for a really long time! Do you still need company?” They said with an earnest look in their eye, and she knew if she asked, they would stay and chat with her well into the afternoon. 

“Good for you then.” Haley shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. You found the bracelet.” 

They got up, holding the rod in one hand and the ice box handle with the other. “I’ll see you around?” there was a hopeful smile on their faces.

“We always seem to see each other around.” Haley answered with a small smile of her own. What was happening to her, honestly?

“It is a tiny town.” Vis shrugged and left with a half smile, the pier creaking under their footsteps.

_And yet we go ages without seeing each other, somehow._

Emily was making lunch when Haley arrived home. Her sister smiled at her, and Haley gave a weak smile in return.

“I think I’m ready for that conversation.” she said.

She slept over at Alex’s the day before the Stardew Valley fair. They had made a sleepover to watch scary movies, since she absolutely could not watch them on her own. When they woke up, the Fair was already in full swing; they could hear the tourists moving around, the blings coming from the test strength machine, screams of glee and frustration probably from the other games. They could also smell the food.

“Hmm, what do you say we get a hotdog?”Alex said as they were getting ready.

“For breakfast?” Haley pondered, clipping star earrings to her ear. “If you want, I guess.”

Alex smiled at her. “Good, ‘cause I do want to.”

She shook her head, smiling as they both left the house. George and Evelyn were already there, testing the spinning wheel.

“We could try the slingshot booth.”

“I hate that one. I wish the strength tester gave star tokens more easily.” Alex replied, saying hi to the man in a mask that usually stayed with the strength challenge.

“Well I hate fishing. What do we do?” she prompted, looking at the usual tents where they could win tokens.

“You know, we are not tied to the hip, we can each go to one and get the star tokens, we’ll probably get more than enough.” 

Haley smiled ironically at him. “Yeah, of course.”

She wasn’t the best shot, but got a decent amount of points, and enough star tokens for even more than a hotdog.

She waited for Alex to finish at the fishing booth, and he came out with a smug smile. “I’ve got enough, how about you?”

“I’ve got more than enough.” she challenged back. 

They smiled devilishly at each other and went to get food. 

The clothes in a tourist kid were the focus of their attention when Emily came into view. Haley had been trying to do better since talking to her sister, but that kid’s parents really needed to make a conscience check. 

“Hey champs.” she said with a smile and a cotton candy in her hands.

“Champs.” Haley raised her eyebrow.

“I was talking to Vis about referring to groups and I’m trying out gender-neutral ones. I’m going to have to agree that champs isn’t the best.” she shrugged, sitting beside them. “Have you gone to see the fortune teller? I love them. I watch her show everyday on TV.”

“Maybe later. We’re probably going to the strength one next.” Haley said looking at Alex, who gave her a big smile. 

“You’ll have to tell me later what they say to you.” Emily said, getting up again.

“What did they tell you?” 

“That I’m gonna be reunited with my love soon enough.” Emily answered. “She has to mean Sandy, right? I’m just not sure how.” she shrugged, and seemed so excited that Haley couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m gonna go say hi to Caroline and the rest, I’ll see you guys later.” she said, waving.

“Okay, time to see if I can finally win that.” Alex cracked his knuckles, getting up.

She and Alex strolled arm in arm to the smasher, and the masked man gave them the hammer.

“You can do it.” Haley said. “I believe in you.” She took her camera out, thinking she could get a good picture of it.

He winked at her. There was the stage of preparation, getting his legs in the right place, and then the arms, and then he smashed it. It did not hit the top.

He tried again, and Haley snapped a picture of the moment. It still didn’t hit. He always got very close, but never quite hit it. “Goddammit, I hate this stupid challenge.” The masked man laughed in solidarity. 

“It’s hard man, but I’m sure you’ll be able to do it someday. You wanna give it a shot, lady?”

“Yeah, why not?” She took the hammer from Alex’s hand and tried to mimic his position. She wasn’t sure if she was successful, but tried. She didn’t get nearly as close as Alex, but it was fun anyways, so she tried a few more times.

They took a look at the grange displays after picking cotton candy, their energy a little dead after the strength tester. Pierre’s was as colorful as always, and Marnie seemed to be able to make bigger cheese wheels every year. Willy was the only one that didn’t get much of a chance, because fish didn’t change, but she did see a new octopus on his stand. There was an empty one in the middle, and she guessed mayor Lewis had saved it for Vis.

They went to the seers tent afterwards, and she went in first, while Alex waited for her outside with the food. 

“Hello there.” she greeted, tucking a side of her hair behind her ear.

“Ah, you’re the sister of that one with the blue hair. Emily, was it?” they said more to themselves than to Haley. “Welcome. Sit down please, do you have the money?”

“Oh yeah, here” she took out the gold from her pocket, giving it to her.

The fortune teller gave her a nod, placing her hand on top of her crystal ball. “Place your hand on the ball, please.” Haley did as she was told and saw the fog swirl inside the ball. 

“You’re going through a big change in your life right now, even if you’re resistant to it. It’s for the best.” The voice was slightly ominous, together with the swirling fog just below their hand. “I see someone special. They’re as persistent as you are resistant, and I see you happy.” She continued, and breathed in deeply. The fortune teller took her hand off the ball, and so Haley did too. “That’s it, that’s all the crystal can see for you.”

Haley stared at her, mouth slightly ajar. _As persistent as you are resistant_. Her heart skipped a beat. God fucking dammit.

“Remember, the future's not set in stone, It’s in your hands.” And then she gave her a knowing smile and a wink. Haley left the tent with her eyes still unfocused, and the first thing she saw was the weird person in a cape and hat that she knew was the so-called wizard from the tower near Marnie’s ranch.

“Excuse me young lady, I would like to speak to my friend Welwick.” he said. 

Haley stepped aside and let him in. “You gave up?” she looked at Alex, questioning. “You were in front of him if we consider this a line.”

Alex stared at the ground. “I think I’m gonna skip this year. I’m kinda scared of what the future has in store for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been… I don’t know, thinking about going pro and how that’s probably a very distant dream, lately. It doesn’t bother me that much, I guess, but I don’t think I’m ready to hear an oracle say it, specially because I’m not sure what I’m going to do.” He shrugged, and Haley felt it wasn’t over, so she just kept staring at him. “And, I’ve been…curious. Towards a certain person.”

Person? Oh no. “Vis?!” Haley exclaimed before she could stop herself.

Alex bit his lip. “How can someone not have feelings for them is beyond my mind.” He gave Haley a pointed look. “But that is never going to happen. And there is also another person that... I don’t think I was expecting, and that one… Well I don’t even wanna get into it.”

“Why aren’t you telling me things?” Haley felt outraged, and her face showed. 

“I’ve been wondering about Penny.” he spoke quietly, biting his lip.

Haley’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god. When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m still not really sure about what it is that I’m feeling.” he shrugged, apologizing. “You teased me so much about my crush on Sebastian when we were younger, I didn’t want that repeated, and wanted to figure myself out first.” Alex explained, and she felt the quiet sting he meant, even if that had been resolved between them. “And besides, we weren’t on speaking terms, you were giving me the cold shoulder.”

 _Oh._ “Well I’m sorry I wasn’t there, I promise I won’t tease.” she smiled innocently. “Tell me all about your crush on little miss goody two shoes.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “You don’t make things easy, you know."

“I know. I’m sorry. I love you, I’ll stop.” she said, hands on his shoulders. “Please tell me what is going on.”

“Well, after you stormed off that day, she came by to throw the cones into the trash, and asked me if everything was okay, ‘cause she had seen you storm off...” he shrugged. “We talked for a bit. Then the other day, something happened in her home while Vis was there, which I will not share in respect to her, and I was playing with Dusty outside, so I heard it.”

“Something happened while Vis was there, that you heard?” Haley questioned, her heart rate picking up.

Alex seemed to rethink his words. “No, Vis had nothing to do with it. They were just there.” Alex pierced her with his eyes. “What is it about today that got you so curious about Vis?

Haley looked anywhere but at him. “I may or may not be curious about a certain person.” she said, repeating what he had told her. “But we’re talking about you.”

Alex’s mouth hung open for a moment, and then he flashed a devil’s smile. “So it seems they _do_ spark feelings in everyone. But fine, I’ll finish my story, as long as you spill what you’ve been keeping from me.” The smile didn’t match the serious tone at all, but Haley knew her friend. 

“Deal.”

“Well, when she came out of her house she passed by me, and I asked if everything was okay, and we talked for a while. And now I’m just… I want to talk to her, you know? Find out more. But, well, I’m still unsure what it means.”

Haley was smiling widely. “I’m gonna give you so much shit over this.” Alex pushed her over as she laughed. “I’m joking. You two are neighbours, you should have lots of opportunities to talk to her.” 

“Yeah, I’m still figuring it out.” he said, shrugging. “Your turn, babe.”

After talking a lot, Alex went to find George and Evelyn to have lunch, so she decided it was the perfect opportunity to photograph around. The first thing she did was snap some pictures of the grange displays, and she found the farmer there, placing their variety of items on the display.

“Hey there. The display is looking good.” she said, making her presence known. Vis raised their head, a smile appearing in their face. Haley was starting to get annoyed at the way her stomach would turn inside out whenever they did something.

“Thanks. I think this grange display has a bit of everyone in it.” they said, petting a pumpkin. Haley smiled.

“Why?”

“Well, where would I be without Willy and Marnie teaching me all their stuff, and Pierre selling me seeds.” they shrugged. 

“Never tell Pierre I said this, but your display looks like a winner.” she whispered, nodding.

They thanked her with a brilliant smile and a laugh, and went to add the finishing touches. Haley took the picture. She could not keep it together for long, though:

“Have you been to the fortune teller?” she batted her eyelashes.

Vis looked a little lost, but smiled anyways. “No, not yet. Why? Would you recommend it?”

“I went earlier. They said some… interesting things.” she finished, resting her body against the wooden support for the displays. 

Vis’ eyes stared way too intensely into hers for a second, and her body seemed to heat up. “I’ll have to check it out then.” and they smiled a half smile that did something to her.

She took her chance to leave, and went back to her task of picture taking.

She took one of Shane holding a hen so Jas could pet it; one of Sebastian with his cigarette in his mouth, staring off into the distance. She spotted Robin and Leah with their woodworking, and went for framing the shot, when Vis suddenly popped up on the frame, talking excitedly to Leah.

And Leah touched their arm just a little too intimately.

Haley took the camera out of her eyes. She remembered back in spring, when she and Alex had been sure Vis had asked Leah for the flower dance and she had turned them down. Well, she had been sure. And now, a ting of jealousy spiked through her spine as Leah’s hand fell from their arm and they smiled at her.

Her teeth clenched. She turned to snap a picture of the pigs, with Harvey in it. She got close to one of the cows, and it mooed at her. 

“I’m asking for it, aren’t I?” she asked the animal, and it blinked back, chewing on hay.

What was their deal anyway? Had they been hitting on everyone in town, and that was why everyone liked them so much? _That’s what you get_ , her brain shot at her.

She went to make rounds around the fair, snapping pictures of everything she found interesting, to keep her mind off of Leah’s hand on Vis’ arm. _Happy_ , the fortune teller had said.

In the end, Vis won second place in the “best grange display” competition, and the huge smile on their face did indescribable things to her heart, unfortunately.

It was a few days before spirit's eve when Haley saw them again. It was a wonder that she managed not to see the farmer everywhere when the town was literally the size of a walnut, but she wasn’t going to complain. After all, she was not at all comfortable with the way her body seemed to react when she saw them.

She was on her way to the fountain, and there they were, accompanied by this big dog and, upon seeing her, they immediately smiled.

“Haley!”

“I thought I smelled dirt, farmer.” she teased, and saw them immediately deflate. She quickly corrected herself. “That was a joke. Sorry.”

It had been so long since Haley had made an effort. 

But now, she wanted to. Stupid.

She couldn’t help but trust this stupid farmer and their stupid words and stupid smile, and even stupider clothes. She wanted so much to see more of them. And her greatest efforts couldn’t turn back to what she knew was safe. 

Their eyebrows went to their hairline. “Oh. Okay then.” and the smile was back. Haley’s _stupid_ heart started doing backflips. She remembered Leah touching Vis’ arm as a way of deescalating. The dog barked. “This is Cari, she’s my dog. I don’t think you’ve met before.” they said, scratching behind the dog’s ear. Her tongue came out and her eyes closed, enjoying the caress.

“She’s so preeetty.” Haley said, kneeling down to pet her neck on both sides. “Hi you, aren’t you a big girl?” the dog barked and tried licking her face, but she dodged just in time. “Nice try, maybe you’ll have more luck on the next!”

Vis smiled at the exchange. “I didn’t know you were a fan of animals.”

“I’m a fan of dogs, mostly because of Dusty, Alex’s dog. I’m pretty sure other animals hate me.”

“That can’t be true, look at how Cari likes you.” the dog barked, as if to support her owner's claim. Haley petted her again before she stood up. 

“Yeah, she’s the exception, like Dusty. Not the rule.”

“You know, I have a lot of animals on my farm, we can test your theory. None of them like strangers very much, but we can see how it goes.”

Were they inviting her back to the farm? The famous farm, where they would wing it and not know a single thing?

“Don’t you have… I don’t know, farmer stuff to do?” Haley questioned, raising a brow.

“Not much today, I’ve watered all my plants and my beautiful animals have been cared for. I cut some grass, chopped down some wood…” they seemed to be enumerating tasks in their head. “I can’t think of other things to do.” they answered, shrugging. “I could go fishing, if you don’t want a tour of the farm.”

She thought of all the attention the farmer got from everybody else, and wondered if she had been the first to be invited to the farm. The thought made her feel important and used at the same time. “Maybe some other time.” She wasn’t about to be a completely brainless fool just yet. Her great-grandmother had taught her better than that. 

Though lately everything she taught her had been in questioning.

Spirits eve was her favorite excuse for dressing extravagantly, even if she had to spend most of the festival staring at her food not to get too scared to sleep at night. 

She placed the crown on her head and stared at herself in the mirror. Last year, she had dressed as a corpse bride, this year she felt more of a royal calling. The queen outfit made her look absolutely regal and she loved it. 

“What do you think?” she asked, leaving her room and looking at Emily and Alex.

Alex was finishing his Zorro makeup, and Emily tying her hair back so it would match her good witch hat. 

“Nice.” Alex said with a smirk. Emily agreed.

She did a little spin, finishing it with a bow. “Thank you, my loyal subjects.”

“This year I’ll solve the maze. I’ll show that wizard.” 

“I’ll be happily eating Gus’ food while you’re scared out of your body in there.” Haley said, hopping to Emily’s side and hugging her.

“And I’ll be right there with you.” Emily hugged back. “I’ll leave maze solving to you brave souls!” She said to Alex.

Haley and Emily had very different reasons for fearing the maze. Emily was very connected spiritually to the world, according to herself, so the maze scared her because she felt way too close to entities. Haley hated it because she didn't believe at all, and the things she saw in there creeped the hell out of her.

They left their home to be greeted by the sight of the feast, and past it the moving skeletons kept caged. A chill ran down Haley’s spine. 

“Eat! Let’s go eat!” she pulled them both by the hand, actively avoiding to stare in the direction of the cage. 

Alex left when Emily and Haley were just getting started on the feast, to try and crack the maze. 

“Hello there, fairy tale characters.” A familiar voice greeted, and Haley looked up to find the fucking stupid farmer looking absurdly handsome. 

They had a cowboy hat and a red plaid shirt tucked in blue jeans, kept tight by a belt, their usual old brown boots hiding their feet. Their blue bandana was facing their back, and the curly hair was partially hidden by the hat, with a slingshot tied to their waistband.

“Hey Vis! I’m glad the clothes fit.” Emily said with a smile. Haley stared in disbelief at her sister. How could she not have prepared her for this? “I think you were indeed meant to be a cowboy, farmer. Cowperson?”

Vis laughed. “Yeah, all I need to do is find a horse now! But mostly, I think I look pretty in it.” they said, shrugging. “You both look amazing.” They said, and Haley may have imagined the way their eyes stayed on her for a bit too long. 

“Wanna sit down and eat something with us?” Emily asked. showing the empty chairs around. 

“Nah, thanks. I have a maze to crack.”

“Oh, not you too.” Haley grunted, hiding her face in her hands.

“Well Abigail, Sam and Alex wouldn’t shut up about it. I have to see what it is.”

“It’s a really creepy, dark, long and confusing hallway, that’s what it is.”

“If I were that easily scared I don’t think I would’ve lasted very long here.” The farmer chuckled. “I’ve seen all kinds of-”

“Yeah, I don’t want to hear another word!” Haley interrupted them, and ate a spoonful of pumpkin pie.

“Haley hates creepy things that aren’t usual life creepy things.” Emily explained, smiling at Vis.

“Well shit.” the farmer scratched their head. “I think this is the wrong festival for you, then.”

“I love the dressing up part of it.” Haley chimed in, staring pointedly at the farmer.

“You _are_ very good at it.” Vis agreed, with a smile. “Well, I’m gonna go. Maybe later I’ll join you at the feast?”

Not long after they left, Haley’s least favorite person right now, for utmost selfish reasons, showed up at the event. Leah was wearing elf ears and flowers in her braided hair, along with an all green outfit. Unfortunately, she spotted them and decided to join their table. 

“Hey you two! How’s the food?” she asked with a happy smile. Haley wanted to strangle her. She had been trying to do better, though, so she made an effort not to open her mouth.

“We all know Gus never does any wrong.” Emily offered with a warm smile.

“Very true. Where is your camera Haley? I thought you were Stardew Valley’s official photographer.” she asked. Haley knew she didn’t mean anything by it.

“I’m not very fond of photographing ugly things.” she said with an innocent smile in Leah’s direction.

Emily seemed to pick up on something and added “We have a ‘we’re-very-fearful-people’ problem in our house.” 

Leah seemed to process the comment, but laughed. “I can’t judge. Those skeletons look pretty real, it is kinda scary.” she looked over to another table, and waved at them. “I’m having some wood sculpting problems, so I’m gonna go speak to Robin there. Bye, I’ll talk to you two later!”

Emily stared questioningly at Haley. 

“I don’t like her.” Haley said as an answer.

“I thought we were on a path to healing.” Emily said with a pout.

“We are! But I have reasons.” Haley said, a jokingly serious expression in her face. “Serious reasons.”

“It’s a defense mechanism actually.” Emily said, a reprimanding look in her eyes. “Power move, or trying to get respect through fear, if you want to speak nana’s language, because you’re scared of getting hurt. It’s what you said you wanted to put behind.”

“You know, for all everyone says, those tactics were very effective in getting me what I wanted and not hurt.” she answered, half-serious.

“Were they really?” Her sister asked, her face an open book.

Haley’s jaw clenched. “Look. You don’t have to give me that stupid earnest look like I’m a kid learning. I know why everyone has a problem with how I act. I want to see what all the fuss you and Alex and Vis talk about, being open to the world and all that. Doesn’t mean I’m about to be a saint to every single person I meet.”

Emily pursed her lips. “No one needs you to be a saint, not trying to purposefully hurt someone’s feelings is a good start already, you know.” she shrugged slowly, gesturing towards Leah.

Haley hummed in response. Scaring someone by trying to bring out their insecurities was always an effective way of getting them to back off, but it would make no difference. And it wasn’t Leah's fault, not really, if Vis was shooting in all directions. And she had been hurt, a lot, even if she wouldn’t admit it out loud and to herself, by the way she always did things. Her life history was always there in her brain as proof.

She did want to fix it the only way she knew how, scaring Leah away. And it indeed would not be pretty. But fuck her if she didn’t see now why maybe that wasn’t the best option.

Maybe that’s why it was good she had her sister there with her. She could do better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked writing this chapter, because well they're finally starting to interact properly, especially the beginning, so I hope it made sense and you liked it!
> 
> In my head, Haley and Emily grew up with pets, like cats and turtles and birds, because Emily loved them, but they all weren't very fond of Haley, so she decided maybe animals didn't like her.


	5. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haley starts getting ideas of what to do with her life and jealousy makes itself known.

There was the smell of dirt, and the feeling of warmth on her back. She saw green and blue and brown and the sky and the earth. And when she reached for the empty space in front of her, dry and calloused hands held hers. She felt the sand of the beach beneath her feet and could hear the sound of the ocean, and then the dry hands spinned her around and hugged her from behind.

Her heart was racing and her body felt warm and she felt… wanted, and cared for. A head rested against her shoulder and she smiled and closed her eyes. She knew who it was and happiness was all around her. Her body turned almost on its own accord, and she leaned in, her lips searching for something.

The warmth of her bed felt empty when her eyes opened to find her dresser. She wanted to go back to her dreamland, where everything felt right and they were there, their arms around her, not anyone else. She had known that feeling once, very fleetingly and did not enjoy it properly, like an idiot. 

Haley grunted, burying herself under the covers.

“Oh my, Clint’s snowman just looks so sad.” Emily shook her head. “I’m gonna go help him.”

Haley and Alex shared a look, eyes wide and mouth in a thin line, but didn’t say a thing.

Alex fixed the hat on top of their snowman’s head, and Haley decided she quite liked how it had turned out. Taking her camera from her backpack, she took a picture of it; the background was punctuated with several snowmen and everyone around it, each building their own. She liked it. A sense of community and teamwork seemed to be emanating from it and the idea didn’t… bother her anymore. As much as it always had.

Alex waved at Penny with a smile, and she returned it. The woman was helping Jas and Shane out with their snowman, and it seemed to be coming along very well. “I’m gonna go see if she wants some help.” he said.

“You go, babe.” Haley smiled with her tongue out.

She took a look around, and found Vincent sliding in the ice with Sam, Sebastian sitting on the sidelines watching. She took the picture, the smiles on the brother’s faces were shining and Sebastian’s tiny uplift in the mouth was adorable. 

“Miss Haley!” Vincent shouted. “Can I see the picture?” he asked, an excited smile brightening his face.

She came close, shaking her head. “You’re gonna have to ask mayor Lewis later. He’s the one in charge of printing the pictures. I think he gets someone in Zuzu city to do it, that’s why it takes a while”

Sam seemed surprised at her response. There was a slight frown, when he asked: “Do we look good in it?” She saw Sebastian getting up from his place.

“I don’t take pictures of ugly things.” she answered, as if it was obvious.

“Huh.” His eyebrows rose, and Sebastian placed his arm protectively around Sam’s shoulders.

“We’ll check it out.” he said, almost as a threat, to see if she was telling the truth. Haley couldn’t judge him.

“Hope you like it.” She smiled, daring Sebastian to dislike it later on. She should save film for the fishing competition, but she wanted to take a few more pictures first.

She and Sebastian had been in an unspoken war ever since Alex had a crush on him. Back then, she had been so scared of losing her friend she probably mistreated Sebastian even worse than her memory remembered. Emily’s talk of defense mechanism made a lot of sense when she thought back to moments of her life.

Being mean to Sebastian so he wouldn’t want to hang out with Alex, because Alex was her friend. Bad mouthing Abigail to Emily as if it would make her dislike her, and then being shitty to Abigail to scare her off of her sister. Sam starting to dislike her because she had been a bitch to both his friends, and their parents following. Trying the nice approach when she went to high school, and after being cheated on closing off again, knowing how to jab at every single person at school - which got everyone wanting her approval, and at the same time spreading five thousand different rumours about her. Knowing what to say to make her friends stick around even if she mistreated them, that way they wouldn’t hurt her. They did everything she wanted because they were scared of what might come if she disliked something, and stayed around because she knew what to say to make them feel special for being her friend, so she wouldn’t be alone. 

Defense mechanism was a good name.

She thought about how she wanted to make Leah feel lesser, as a way to get her to back off from Vis because she wouldn’t feel like she could get their attention anyway, when Haley was the one that actually couldn’t. She realized Vis probably would never think of her as a possibility, because of how she had treated them at first. It made her chest constrict a little.

She looked back at Alex, who was smiling at something Penny had said, and was immensely grateful at that gigantic sports-loving dork for sticking around, even when she wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person. Shane was holding Jas up, so she could stick the carrot into the snowman’s face.

She approached them, camera in hand:

“Hello there.” she said. “Want a picture of that masterpiece?”

Jas became beet red and stared at Shane for help. Alex discreetly gave her a thumbs up, telling her he was proud of her attempt. Shane stared at her awkwardly, certainly uncomfortable with the idea as he put Jas down, but Penny smiled at her.

“Yes, I think Jas would love it.” Penny said, holding the little girl’s hand. 

Haley raised the camera. Alex stood at one side with a smile, his hand around the snowman’s shoulder. Penny stood on the other side, smiling, but Shane was quickly and discreetly making his exit.

“C’mon Shane, it’s your work too.” she called him out, staring pointedly at him. Maybe he needed direction on how to pose. “Sit down with Jas in front of it.”

“Uh…” the man seemed torn. 

Seeing Shane help Jas make her snowman had been a turning point for Haley, in regards to the man. Emily and him had been… Haley didn’t know exactly what they were, but some type of friends, for quite a while now, and her sister had mentioned him doing better; she had also seen him talking to the farmer too, with a smile, on one occasion. And he didn’t smell much like beer anymore, and those were all positive signs from where she was standing. If she could help him save a good memory from this, from doing better, she would, god knows she wanted to remember it too.

Haley nodded once at him, encouragingly, but it was Jas shyly turning to him and saying: “Come on, uncle.” that made his shoulders untense and his face soften.

“Yeah, okay.” he swallowed, sitting down behind Jas.

Haley framed it, loving the way Shane was awkwardly making an effort and how Jas being there with him seemed to calm him down, and the way Alex and Penny seemed amused at the turn of events. The picture felt right, it felt like the moment.

“Mayor Lewis should have the pictures in a week, or two, I guess.” she said, smiling at them. 

“Thanks Haley.” Penny answered, returning the smile.

“Wow, this is looking really good, Jas!” came a voice from Haley’s side. Jas got even redder, if possible, staring at the approaching farmer. “Hello everyone.” they greeted, waving at them.

“Hey Vis!” Alex was the first to answer.

Shane nodded at them, with a small smile. "What's up?”

“Going to try the fishing competition?” Penny asked right after. “I’ve seen you fishing in the town river.”

“Yes.” Vis said excitedly. “Willy better watch himself, I’m coming for him.” they joked, placing their hands in their pockets. 

“From what I’ve seen, he better watch himself indeed.” Haley chimed in, looking to catch the farmer’s eye. Did she truly not stand a chance?

They smiled at her, and their eyes met. “I’ll remember your faith in me when it comes to sharing the prize.” and then they winked. Haley felt a shiver in her spine. Her cheeks might’ve gotten a little red, but no one said nothing so she hoped they only felt warm.

Vis excused themselves, to join the preparing competitors. Penny went to stand next to where her mom would be fishing; Alex nudged her with his arm and a dumb smile on his face.

“From what I’ve seen, he better watch himself indeed.” he mimicked her voice terribly, and Haley shoved him, while he cracked up laughing. “Oh my god, who are you?”

“Stop that!” Haley bit back, and it just made Alex laugh harder. “You’re making me question my decision to be a better person.”

Alex suddenly hugged her tightly. “I love you. I’m so happy you want to be happy. I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you sap.” Haley answered dismissively, but hugged him back just as tightly.

Haley took a separate picture of every competitor, but her lenses lingered on Vis, just because, before she took the picture. And for someone who had just recently learned fishing, they seemed to be doing quite well.

And when the mayor counted the fish, they did win. Haley took a picture of the mayor congratulating them, and noticed as Leah watched them just as intently as she did. Her nostrils flared. She turned to Alex, so she wouldn’t think about it.

“You know, once, Vis told me they were just winging it with this farmer stuff.” She said, and Alex nodded, waiting for her to finish. “I’m not really sure I believe them, I mean, first place in their first year here? Pam has been trying for a lifetime.”

“Maybe they had a secret life as a farmer all along.” Alex nodded. “It absolutely cannot be that they’re just a natural.”

“You know what I mean, dumbass.” She smiled at him. 

“Haley, look what I’ve won!” the farmer called, approaching them.

They were wearing a mariner's hat on their head, some locks escaping the hat cover and curling around their face. They stopped and held the edge of the cap, as if posing, so Haley raised her camera and took the picture.

“How about it?” They asked. “Just as hideous as the rest of my clothes?”

Haley raised a brow, eyes shining with amusement. “It’s a nice hat, even if it doesn’t match anything you wear.” she teased.

She was flipping through a winter photography magazine when the approaching footsteps made her raise her head. This specific edition was one she wanted to reread, not only because of the inspiration of photography in the snow, but also because it had a step-by-step instruction on how to build a darkroom, and ever since Sebastian’s dare and Shane’s awkward smile with Jas that was an idea nudging her brain.

Even in winter, she still liked coming to the fountain, it was calm and the white horizon made her feel a certain way that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Maybe it reasoned within her as much as Willy standing alone in a pier did. 

Vis always found a way to be around in those moments, somehow. 

“Morning farmer.” she said, nodding at them.

“Hello there, photographer.” they shot back, smiling at her. “What are you doing here on this really cold winter morning?”

“I happen to like this spot a lot.” she noticed the sword and pickaxe strapped to their back and the sack tied to their waist.

“I noticed.” they said. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

Not at all. Please, be my fuckign guest. Her mind staggered. “Sure.”

Haley noticed they were wearing a heavy dark coat and the worn out pants had to have a second pair underneath it, because even if it wasn’t snowing, the day was cold. The mariner’s hat was firmly in place, trying to keep the heat in their head, and there were new and unusual purple boots on their feet.

“Why do you like here so much?” they asked, looking at her as they sat down. Haley’s first instinct was to back off.

“It’s quiet, and I have nice memories here.” She shrugged. “It’s where I met Alex.”

Vis smiled at her, and the monster in her stomach made itself known.

“How come you’re not busy on the farm, or doing whatever it is you do all day everyday?” she asked, genuinely curious this time, different from the first time she had questioned them about it.

They shrugged. “It’s winter, there’s not much to do at the farm. All grass and crops have died, and I just have to make sure the animals are well fed and happy. The rest of the day is mine to make. I like winter because of it.” they smiled. “I usually just go fishing or exploring the mines.” they pointed to the sword and pickaxe on their back. “What about you, what do you do in winter?”

Haley thought about it. “I’m trying to learn some new life skills. Taking a look at photographs in the snow” She raised the magazine she had been reading. “But mostly I just stay home, read through some magazines, take some pictures and send them to the mayor. Select the clothes I’m getting rid of in the new year.” she thought about it. “I hang out with Alex a lot too, and I have dinner at his place a lot because Evelyn is the greatest cook of all time. And Emily and I cook together too.”

“Your life is busier than my farm day to day.” they joked, shoving her lightly with their shoulder and Haley felt electricity run through her body.

“I highly doubt that.” she shook her head. ‘We’ll see once spring comes back and the crops return.”

“Maybe you can come help me out some time, and you’ll tell me what’s more busy.” they offered. Haley wasn’t sure if they were joking this time or if they meant it, like they once had, but their warm eyes seemed so expectant. She felt the monster inside her demand of her to take the offer. 

“Maybe.” she answered simply, staring at the snowy infinite that spread beyond the town's limits. Even if her stomach felt like a butterfly hutch.

The farmer smiled again, looking into the horizon with her. “Well, I was planning on hitting the mines today, so I’ll leave you to your picture analyzing.” they got up, and Haley wished they gave her a hug goodbye.

“I’ll see you later, then.” she said with a smile, picking up the magazine.

The farmer made a salut and fixed the mariner’s hat on their head as they were leaving.

She had heard the stories of the mines. The obscure terrors in them. She thought back to the time she saw slime splashes across their hands and clothes, and shuddered. But they knew how to handle themselves. Probably.

She shuddered again, opening the magazine.

Haley was just finishing her breakfast when Emily came in with a letter in her hand and an excited expression.

“Leah is having an art show today!” she said, and apparently remembered the next second Haley wasn’t exactly fond of the woman. “You’re going. No choice.”

“You’re literally friends with the entire town, you don’t need my company.”

“Haley that is so not the point.” Emily said, sitting down in front of her. “Look, it’s the perfect opportunity to mingle with everyone.”

Haley grunted, not liking the prospect of it very much. “I’m not really into mingling with everyone.” she shrugged.

“Pleease!” Emily pleaded, taking her hands in hers. “For me. I’ll even cook you pink cake later if you want.”

“It’s not melon season.” Haley shot back, but she knew she was going to cave in.

“I’ll eventually bake you pink cake!” her sister corrected, with a smile, knowing she had won.

“Yeah, fine.” she shrugged, relenting. 

“I’ll not leave your side.” Emily promised, squeezing her hand. “It’s not even about the mingling, really, I just want you to see the town coming together to support someone.” she explained. “As proof, you know, that most of the time people are not out to get you.”

Later in that afternoon, Haley was faced with four sculptures that couldn’t look more different from each other, but she could appreciate them. From an artist to another. Emily commented on her about the pink one that just went around each other and how much she liked it.

She raised the camera, and took a picture of the human one, framing it against the sky.

“Hey Haley, Emily! I’m glad you like it.” Leah said, coming closer. Everyone was talking about her work, but it was just her luck that she would approach her. Guess it's what she got for not growing up in Pelican Town and never having to experience Haley tearing her apart in her younger days.

“It’s hard not to appreciate a beautiful human figure.” she answered, half criticizing and half complimenting. 

“The way their shape and face are sort of inconclusive and you can't afirm anything about it? Totally fucking with the status quo.” Emily was nodding excitedly.

“Thanks” her smile grew bigger. “I think it’s my favorite one. Playing around with anatomy and breaking certain expectations was really fun.”

The artist nodded at her and turned around, leaving to speak with Elliott.

Alex arrived a moment next, looping his arm around hers. “Hi there sunshine, how you feeling?” he asked, already knowing the answer. Emily greeted him with a smile.

Then she heard Leah say, a beam on her face: “Vis! You’re here!” and immediately move next to them. Great, just great. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Just marvelous.” Haley answered with as much irony as she could place in her voice.

Vis hugged the artist, smiling right back. “I’m really glad you did this. They all look so great!” 

Alex tugged her closer with his arm.

Leah took a deep breath, looking around, and murmured something to Vis, to which the farmer nodded and smiled encouragingly. Haley was as still as ice, hands almost ripping through her pockets as she pushed as hard as she could against them. Emily was looking at her, but Haley didn’t even register properly.

“Hello everyone!” Leah raised her voice in the middle of the square, getting everyone’s attention. “Thank you so much for coming to my art show.” she said, voice a little nervous. Haley wanted to pick at it. “As some of you know, I came to this town looking to be inspired by the beauty of it, and it’s surroundings.” she made a pause, breathing deeply and smiling. “It’s really come to feel like home now.”

Leah went around introducing her pieces, and telling them a little about her process and why she had made them. Haley tuned out, looking at Vis.

The farmer’s eyes followed Leah around as she walked around her art, and in a moment that Haley was pretty sure was her mind playing tricks on her, their eyes met. Haley stared back. And then their eyes went back to Leah. 

When Leah returned to the center of the square, everyone clapped. “Oh, one last thing.” she said. Why? Hadn’t she got enough attention? “I wanted to say thanks to my special friend, Vis.” she said, moving to stand at their side. “They were the one that gave me the idea to host this art show, and honestly, if it weren’t for their support, I probably wouldn’t even have gone through with it.” she gave pause, sending a smile in the farmer’s direction. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Thank you.” she said.

Vis wrapped her in a hug and said something to her.

Haley was pretty sure her eye was twitching. 

Compliments started coming in, and she heard Demetrius ask the price of the pink one. The image of Vis’ arms around the other woman was tattooed to her brain. The ease with which they did it too. 

“How are you feeling today?” she asked Alex when he met her at the pier to browse the travelling market. 

Alex breathed the ocean sea breeze, linking their arms together. “I’m okay.” he answered, shrugging. “It’s always especially hard this time of the year, but it’s been a long time.” he rested his head on hers. “I miss her all the time, though.” he chuckled sadly. 

She squeezed his arm, leaning on him. They bargained with the desert trader for some free hot chocolate instead of the free coffee, and eventually she gave in, handing them two cups of the steaming liquid.

“That famous painter is so overrated.” she gossiped, as they made their way to the decoration boat. “Look at that. It’s not even that pretty.”

“Your pictures would give him a run for his money.” Alex agreed, as they crossed the bridge to the magic shop. “Wow I bet Sebastian would love that frog statue.” he commented as they both started laughing. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking of making a darkroom.” she said, returning to his comment. “I’ve always had photography as a hobby, but I think I’m good at it.” it came as a statement, and Alex nudged her on. “And people might like it. It wouldn’t take so long for the pictures to be back, like when I give them to mayor Lewis, and I could actually keep them, ‘cause they would be mine. Sell them too.”

Alex smiled at the starry sky above their heads. ‘That…” he seemed to think in his words. “Is a brilliant idea, babe.” he nodded at her, smiling a little but biting his lip. “Not to be a buzzkill, but where exactly were you planning on doing this? Your house doesn’t have room for it.”

Haley had something in mind. And it had surprised even herself when she thought of it. “I’m thinking of cleaning up my closet.” she shrugged, as Alex’s eyebrows went to his hairline. “There are lots of clothes there that I’m never going to use again, I was reading some old magazine when I realized this. There is enough space for the clothes I actually love in my room, so I could empty the closet and turn it into a darkroom.”

“You’re going to have to call me when you start this process, ‘cause I wanna be there to see.” he said with an entertained smile. They laughed together, feeling giddy.

They went around the boats, taking a look at their stock and exchanging funny comments when the moment was right. 

“My mom would have loved that pink one.” he commented towards a potted plant. “I think Granny passed her love for flowers down to her.” he smiled.

“She had great taste, that looks like a pink sunflower.” Haley nodded, agreeing with him. Her friend laughed. She sensed him relax as the evening went on and his mind didn’t fixate so much on his mom. 

As the hour went on, Penny finally came along and found them sitting down in the wooden pier, legs hanging against the ocean.

“Hey Alex. Haley.”  
“Hey Penny.” Alex got up in a jump. “I was just passing the time. You ready?” he asked, looking excited.

“For sure.” she smiled at him.

“Be sure to get him home before ten, or you’ll have to deal with me and Evelyn.” Haley said in a serious manner, but then cracked a smile. 

“Don’t worry, he’ll be there.” the woman said, nodding with a polite smile.

“That being said, I’m loving the outfit.” she completed. Penny was wearing light-blue skinny jeans with a white sweater tucked inside it, and beige shoes that matched the overcoat hanging from her shoulders. A safe choice, but pretty nonetheless.

Penny seemed speechless for a moment, but recovered quickly and smiled, surprised, thanking her. Alex gave her another discreets thumbs up as he mouthed “nice one”. Haley smiled at them as they went to watch the mermaid show and made her way home.

She was on the path back to town when a familiar face entered her line of sight.

“You’re already leaving?” the farmer asked, coming closer. The mariner’s hat was firmly in its place, and it made the cute curls that escaped it stand out.

“I just came to keep Alex some company while he was waiting for his hot date.” she said with a mischievous smile. It wasn’t entirely true, but Alex’s family business wasn’t exactly for her to share.

“Who’s he going out with?” they asked, finally stopping in front of her. They had a curious glint in their eye.

“Ask him yourself!” She smiled. The farmer smiled back. Haley's eyes stayed on their lips for a beat too long, and wondered what they would feel like against hers. “I’m not about to spill my best friend’s secrets.”

“I’ll be sure to catch them on the way out, then.” they joked, tongue poking out of their mouth. They swayed a bit on the spot, hands in their pockets. “Willy told me they have underwater fishing, I was gonna try it, if you wanna come with.” they said.

Haley replayed the sentence in her head, and the image of Leah and them hugging kept popping up. Vis was like this with everyone, all smiles and kindness and being there. They didn’t mean anything by asking her to come along, it was just their way; ‘My grandpa was the one that told me to help others, pay attention to their needs.’ they had said, or something like it.

She thought about everyone being at least a little bit in love with the newcomer, and how they were friends with everyone. That’s what they were reaching for here, and Haley wasn’t sure if she could handle them being all soft and open and only meaning it as a friend. Not now, at least, when their untamed curls made her heart skip a bit and everytime their lips moved Haley wondered how they’d taste. 

“Nah. Fishing isn’t really my thing.” she shook her head, but wasn’t able to diminish her smile.

“Did you hate our heart to heart by the ocean, then?” they joked, feigning sadness and placing a hand aggressively over their hearts. “How will I deal knowing our one honest moment was terrible for you?”

Haley bit her lip. “You’re so stupid.” she said, shoving them lightly. Her body lit up at the touch and the exchange. Their brown eyes seemed to be on fire. “Our honest exchange was fine. Got me thinking.”

They smiled, the facade fading. Their body seemed to be leaning towards her. “We can have another one, come on!”

Haley didn’t dare read their expression as hopeful. She was really tempted, though, and fear slipped through all her cracks

“Maybe next year,” she said, returning her hands to her pockets. “I did not come prepared for the feeling of being underwater at all.”

Their smile didn’t fade, but their excitement seemed to be dimmed down. Something snapped into place in their eyes, and they weren’t leaning into her anymore. “I’ll charge this next year.” They bit their lip. “I’ll see you around.”

Haley wondered what she was doing.

Haley held the wrapped package in her hand and squeezed it as the wonderful smell of Gus’ food made its way into her nose. Emily hummed pleasantly by her side.

“You didn’t tell me who you got for secret gift-giving.” Emily asked, staring at the package in her hands.  
“Abigail.” Haley said, gulping down. “And this year I got a serious gift. I’m hoping I’m enough of a big girl to say sorry.” and breathed in deeply.

Throughout the years, whenever Haley would get Abigail, or Sebastian, or even Sam, she didn’t lift a single finger in effort, not that she made a big one when it came to the other people in town It wasn’t worth it, she wasn’t trying to please anyone. 

Now, her heart was racing, wondering if Abigail would like the gift. Younger Haley would be questioning what the fuck was going on with her, and present Haley questioned too; but now, she meant it. She knew she had been unfair to her, during all those years, and this was meant to be a step in the right direction.

“What about you?”

“Marnie.” she answered. “I made her pumpkin pie, the mayor told me she loves it.”

“I got her an amethyst pendant, after bargaining a little with Clint.” she shuddered, thinking about his creepy hot and dark shop.

“You got the right one.” Emily smiled at her. “She loves those.”

“I sure hope so.” 

The tables were all organized around the gigantic tree placed in the middle, and she spotted Vis sitting at a table with Elliott and Leah, and they were adjusting the Mariner’s hat on their head. Wow, what a great way to start her festival. 

Haley and Emily made their way to their usual table with Alex’s family. Today, it was particularly crowded since Shane had finally accepted Emily’s request to sit with them and Pam and Penny seemed to be joining in, besides a familiar eccentric redhead wearing a purple coat sat at the tip.

“Sandy!” Emily greeted first, throwing herself in her girlfriend’s arms. The redhead hugged back with such love that Haley felt like she was intruding simply by looking at it. 

“Ems...” she said back, and they kissed each other. “You’re never going to guess who showed up in the desert yesterday.” came the teasing, with a bright smile. 

“What a beautiful Winter Star morning.” Haley mumbled, zoning out of their conversation as she sat down next to Alex and Evelyn smiled at her. Alex shot her a sympathetic look, nudging her with his shoulder. “At least it's good to see you, Sandy.” she said, smiling at the woman.

“I am loving the bitchy attitude and the red trench coat.” She answered approvingly, staring Haley up and down.

“You did mail it to me last year for my birthday.”

“Yes I did.” she said, with a smug smile on her face.

As she made herself comfortable and picked up more food, Shane cleared his throat, sitting across from Emily and looking at Haley.

“Thanks, for the snowman picture.” he said, shrugging. “Jas loved it. I guess we didn’t have many pictures together nowadays.” 

“Hey, my pleasure.” she smiled at him and Emily raised a brow at him, questioning her friend about the situation. Haley felt quite good and accomplished with the comment, and the way Alex was poking her with a mischievous smile was only adding to the warm feeling in her heart. 

Alex winked at her, returning to his conversation with his grandma after. Haley shook her head. What an unusual feeling, accomplishment at making people feel better with what she was good at. She was used to people disliking her more because of what she liked and did good. 

“Haley?” came a voice she was not used to hearing from behind her. She turned, seeing Sam and Vincent coming to greet her. “Hi.” he smiled uncertain in her direction.

“Hey Sam, what’s up?” She asked, puzzled.

“Mayor Lewis showed us the picture you took of me Vincent and Seb at the Festival of Ice.” he said, tugging at his hoodie. “It looked wonderful. We really loved it.”

Haley was at a loss of words, but recomposed herself after a beat of two. “I’m glad. You looked really wonderful.” she spoke trying to justify her decision to photograph them, even if her mind was still recovering from the compliment. Well, if she would've guessed someone from the Sebastian-Abigail-Sam trio to come and talk to her, it would’ve been Sam anyway. 

He smiled more confidently now. “Sebastian liked it too, but he’ll kill me if he finds out I told you, and I’ll die before admitting it.” he chuckled, winking a little uncomfortably and oddly at her. She imagined it was mostly his way speaking “Anything you wanna say to miss Haley, Vince?

“Thank you miss! You made me look really handsome.” he said, smiling brightly at her. Haley’s heart swelled, proud of her own work. She was going to get that darkroom.

“Anytime.” She smiled, even if still a little uncertain at the interaction. “I’m really glad you liked it.” 

The brothers left. And after eating, and catching up, and everything people did when they got together, everyone raised their glasses to the great year that had passed. She wondered if most of that good year had been because of a certain farmer that had decided to put their nose in everybody’s business, in the annoyingly best way, because even George had a small smile. Haley smiled at her sister and her best friend. She thought about Penny, who seemed more comfortable around her, about the good feeling that came with people liking her photographs, and thought about what Sam had just told her and Vincent’s smile. It had been a good year, despite it all.

She thanked the fortune teller mentally, for telling her that change was for the best.

A certain special someone, she had said too, and Haley started wondering if maybe that’s just what Vis was. Special, to everyone; making a difference for everyone. Maybe their line hadn’t been romantic, it just meant that Vis had been important in her realizing she could do better.

Her eyes searched for them involuntarily, and found them taking a wrapping form beside their chair and giving it to Elliott. They had a warm smile on their face, their neck was involved by a thick blue scarf and a brown jacket. They had switched pants for warmer gray ones and those unusual purple boots, and a look couldn’t be more mismatched. And she had to fight to keep her smile contained, glancing at that stupid ugly outfit. 

Elliott seemed a bit surprised, but smiled gratefully as he opened it to find a lobster. After a beat of surprised silence, he cracked up laughing along with Leah and it was with a bright smile that he thanked the farmer for it. 

Maybe it was okay, if they were only that. 

Even if every fiber of her body was screaming at her to make them feel small for choosing somebody else, maybe it was fine to just let them be. They had done nothing but be kind to her that entire year.

Vis excused themselves, getting up. Haley teared her eyes away when they started looking around, and decided to go to Pierre’s table, where she saw Abigail. The purple haired woman noticed her coming her way, and raised a brow.

“Hi there.” Haley greeted, a knowing smile on her lips. She wasn’t about to let her nervousness show, and she was confident in her gift, despite it all.

Abigail didn’t answer, merely staring at her skeptically.

“I’m your secret gift-giver this year.” Haley explained, shrugging. “So, I got you this.” She extended the black wrapping,

“Thanks.” Abigail said, a fake smile on her face. She didn’t even open the gift, and went back to eating her food.

“Hm..” Maybe she should’ve expected that. “I think you should open it.”

Abigail pierced her eyes at her skeptically. “Why? Looking to see my face of disgust?”

“No, weirdo, because I think you might like it.” she snapped back, her stare dripping with annoyance. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. 

Abigail seemed to incinerate her with a closed mouth and a fiery stare, but when she opened the wrapping, it fell to an openly surprised expression. “Oh.”

Haley shrugged. “I heard you loved it.” 

Abigail stared, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I do.” and Haley only smiled victoriously at her.

“It was nothing.” Haley merely shook her head. “I wanted to…” she took a deep breath, smile fading, words she wasn't used to saying needing to come out of her mouth. “Start making amends.” she breathed out, immediately biting her lips. “I know I haven’t been exactly good to you, I just… I guess this is my start at ‘I’m sorry’” she shrugged, not giving into the nervousness that seeped into her bones. Haley could feel her defensiveness ready to snap, she would be ready to bite back if Abigail wanted to-

“Okay. Thanks.” Abigail said, interrupting her train of thought. The mistrust was still there, but the woman said nothing, merely staring at Haley until she left. 

Haley returned to her original table, eyes still unbelieving at what had transpassed. Abigail hadn’t forgiven her, not by far, but she hadn’t looked down at the peace offering, and hadn’t even been half as rude as Haley had been to her on her better days. It was oddly comforting to see that not everyone had her tendency to mistrust and spit on. Who would’ve thought.

“How was it?” Emily asked when she returned, excited for an answer, Sandy holding her hand over the table. Alex leaned into them, curious too.

“I think it was as good as I could’ve hoped for.” Haley said, still a bit surprised. “She said okay, thanked me for the gift and stared at me until I left.”

“Considering everything you’ve ever said to her, that’s the biggest win.” Alex nods, hugging her from the side. “Have I told you how proud I am of you?”

Emily hugged her from the other side. “I’m very proud of you too.” she said, and they smiled at each other.

Haley and Emily we’re making their way home after the feast when she stopped dead in her tracks, the voice she was hearing in her dreams calling for her. She turned, to watch the biggest fashion disaster to ever step foot in Stardew Valley approach her with a hand to their back.

“I went to the Calico Desert yesterday.” they said, wetting their lips. Haley’s eyes were immediately drawn to it. “I found this, and Sandy told me you like them.” she put forward a pretty light blue wrapping what seemed like a ball.

She opened it to find a coconut. 

Her eyes shone at the food staring back at her, and she looked at the farmer in disbelief. They smiled at her. It had been so long since she had even seen one, with how overpriced they were on the internet and the bus to the desert being broken down. Her first instinct was to mask how happy she was to see it, but what the hell, right?

“I love these.” She spoke finally, staring back at the smiling farmer.

“Well…” they swayed on the spot, toying with their hands. “I’m glad.” 

Haley felt the urge to hug them and never let go again, but she held herself in place. It wouldn’t do her any good to have more memories of their arms against hers.

Haley thanked them again and quickly turned on her feet to head home. She bit her lip, frustrated at how the farmer always seemed nervous around her and it was always going to be her fault, in the end; for shutting them out, telling them they were ugly and, well, always either saying mean things or outright ignoring them. She couldn’t blame Vis for having second guesses when it came to talking to her, even if they always did make the effort. It was just their nature, she thought. 

She found Emily’s eyes, and they seemed lost in thought, staring at her.

Sandy had gone back to her shop in the desert a day after the Winter Feast, and Emily was already back to work, so Haley was alone with her thoughts in the house. Not looking forward to the frustrated thoughts, she went to occupy herself with baking. 

For all her love of Pink Cake, she wasn’t exactly really good in the kitchen. Emily was always the one to make lunch and other things, and Haley only trusted herself to make easy things, such as pasta, or rice, and she felt more at ease when accompanied by her sister. 

She was sitting in her chair, waiting for the cookies in the oven to be ready and searching the internet for the materials she needed to start her darkroom. She and Alex had spent the entirety of the afternoon looking through her closet. Why did she even have that many clothes anyway? Most of them she hadn’t even placed her eyes upon for more than a year.

Alex had gone home after night fell, not wanting to get granny worried about him. As spring approached, they were each very excited for the return of the warm sun and chilly breeze and pretty flowers, and specially being able to come out of the house not wearing at least three layers.

The oven made a ding, and Haley quickly got up from the chair to take a look. They were still not ready, so she decided to leave them in the oven for a few more minutes. 

That’s when Emily walked in, shaking the snow from her beanie and taking off her coat.

“Do I smell cookies?” she asked, turning to look at Haley in the kitchen.

“I guess part of doing better is learning important life skills.” Haley shrugged, diverging from her true motives.

“Yes, cookie baking is essential.” Emily agreed, but something in her tone wasn’t quite there. She took off her boots and went to sit down beside Haley in the kitchen. “Why is the timer off?”

“It already dinged, but the cookies don’t seem ready so I’m leaving them in for a few more minutes.” she answered, biting her lip. Was she doing it wrong? 

But Emily nodded, understanding. “You’re never going to guess what I heard at the bar today.” she said with a knowing smile. “I was casually going to deliver Marnie and the Mayor’s order when I heard Leah telling Vis if they were ever cold they could come to her cabin to drink cider under her quilts.” Emily shook her head. “Can you believe it?”

Haley’s heart had turned to stone.

“Oh.”

Emily seemed to not miss a beat, even if she was staring openly at her sister's face. “And how the farmer only smiled and made their exit? I have to say it’s kind of a classic move for them, by now.”

Haley was only half listening. Images of the farmer and Leah Hugging, snuggling together under a quilt, sitting lake-side and exchanging kisses. Her heart didn’t seem to be beating, if that cold spreading through her body was anything to go by. It did make sense, after all this time; Vis seemed to be one with nature, and Leah lived in the woods and made art from raw materials. It made sense, more than Abigail and the farmer, if she thought back to that one time she heard the purple-haired woman talking about them.

She could already see it. Vis getting up in the morning to do whatever farmers did, waking Leah up with kisses. She would paint landscapes and sculpt their animals in wood and they would have dinner together and lay together and the days would pass, they would have kids and take them to the festivals and… For a moment, she wished she could go to Leah’s house to make her feel like an ant and then squish her with her snow boots, but that just wasn’t her anymore. Hurting Leah wouldn’t get Vis to be with her, and hurting them would only push them further away.

“Haley, are you listening to me?” Emily snapped her fingers in front of Haley’s eyes. Her expression was no longer that one for conspiratory gossip.

“Yeah. Leah and the farmer are probably dating.” she sucked in a breath. “Honestly? I didn’t think Leah would be into that kind of mess.” she shrugged, pushing all of her thoughts deep down inside her brain. “But she’s an artist, maybe she doesn’t mind getting dirty in things other than paint.” she spit out, that old slightly venomous tone sipping through it. Good; she felt like it.

Emily’s jaw was set in stone. “I don’t think you’re listening to me.” she answered after a moment. She made her feel like she was missing something.

What was there to be missing? She never stood a chance anyway. Why was Emily even bringing this up to her?

“You know, for someone who used to bully people until she got what she wanted you seem to be really resigned to this.” Emily finally said, bluntly. Haley raised her brow in confusion; she had never once mentioned to anyone but Alex what she was feeling towards the farmer.

“I’m not-”

“Haley, they left. Leah basically told them to come back to her house with her, and they just smiled and bailed!” She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I wasn’t really sure what it was about Vis that made you so angry at them, at the beginning. My guess was that they were just pure kindness and didn’t have a single selfish cell in their body, when all your life you expected differently, because of great grandma.” Emily held Haley’s hand in hers. “Maybe that’s exactly why you look at them that way now.” she smiled knowingly. “and why you suddenly hate Leah so much.”

Haley was at a loss of words, looking at her sister who suddenly seemed to have understood her her entire life. 

“What I don’t understand is why you decided that it wasn’t worth fighting for.” Emily said, squeezing her hands. “Because literally every single person in this town is trying everything they can to woo that farmer and they haven’t once seemed to reciprocate, always looking for an escape.” her sister shook her head in disbelief. “But from day one they made extra effort with you. So why isn’t it worth fighting for?.”

She had to take a moment to inhale, because her lungs seemed to not be functioning on their own. Emily’s hazel eyes were locked on to her’s as Haley’s brain seemed to run faster than it ever did in her life. She had been mean to the farmer so many times, and Emily was right, they always came back, with a gift, a smile, a comfort. But they had said that was what their grandfather taught them, it didn’t necessarily mean they took special interest in Haley, it was simply their way. 

“It isn’t worth fighting for because they’re not interested in me that way, and just because they aren’t interested in anyone else doesn’t make them feeling something towards me true, Emily.” Haley answered, after a while. “They told me, since they were kids they were told to be kind and help people. That’s what they saw in me, someone that didn’t want help but-” she realized where her train of thought was leading, and stopped. Needed it. She had needed it. “I’m not into humiliating myself.” she sighed. “They’re not interested in a bitch like me.” 

Emily’s eyes were raging against hers, and she let go of her hands. “You know, when Alex and I, and even Vis, told you that maybe life is beautiful and that you should give people the benefit of the doubt, it wasn’t so you would look at yourself like a monster for having been acting otherwise. It was so you could be happier.” she said, crossing her arms against her chest.

Haley said nothing, her mouth a thin line as Emily’s words echoed inside of her brain. The kitchen was filled by a burnt smell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to the people that commented last chapter! I've been kind of anxious lately so it made me smile. 
> 
> I love this one because Haley is starting to get the feel of community, and I love Leah, so it was kind of fun to write from someone who does not like her AND haley noticing shane doing better, because his his six-to-eight heart events were really emotional to me and I wanted that to be here somehow. 
> 
> I also have no idea how snow and harsh winters work so who knows if something here seems off to someone who actually does know how they work
> 
> Also Sandy and Emily are dating i wil die on this hill.


	6. Flourishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haley decides to fight for it.

“Haley, it’s a beautiful sunny day outside.” Emily said, finding her sister in her closet, drowning in cardboard boxes.

Haley’s head shot up from the pile of clothes she was organizing. “I just really want to finish this.”

“You’ve been locked in there since yesterday. Take your camera outside, so you’ll have what to print in this new dark room of yours.” she took her sister’s shoulders, raising her from her floor position. “Really. I’ll take a look in the boxes to see if there’s anything I can use in sewing.”

Haley stared in her sister’s eyes, and finally gave in sighing. “Okay. I’ll be back later.”

“Dinner will be in the oven.”

“Sure thing!” she said, taking her camera and sunglasses from her dresser. She opened the door, to find blue skies and a shining sun, countered by a light breeze that didn’t let her body get too hot.

She adjusted her shorts and blouse and sunglasses before stepping outside, to find Marnie making her way home. 

“Morning Haley.” Marnie politely greeted, with a dip in her hat.

“Hey Marnie.” she answered with a smile. It was nice to actually be talking to people in town in a non aggressive way. “How’s the ranch going?”

Marnie seemed surprised by the question. “Oh, spring is always great. The cows and the hens relish in the fresh grass.”

Her heart skipped a beat thinking of a certain farmer going around talking to the animals. She remembered when Vis offered to introduce their animals, and she had turned them down. Stupid. “Hey, would you mind if I come with? I’ve been meaning to get some animal pictures.”

Marnie seemed even more taken aback now, raised eyebrows and pleased surprise written all over her face. “Of course! I’ll even introduce you to them.”

They made small talk on the way to the farm, Marnie commenting on all the good things that came with spring and Haley merely agreeing with the woman. 

“So.” Marnie leaned in on the wooden fence, petting the snout of a white cow. “This is Dove.” the cow leaned into the owners touch. “They’re the sweetest of the bunch. You’ll find Strawberry, Titan and Leonard aren’t very fond of strangers.” Dove mooed, as if to agree with Marnie.

Haley petted the snout too, watching the other cows in the back that were walking around as far away from her as she could.

“Well, I need to take a look at the hens, cause Shane is working now, but feel free to take photos. Dove really likes affection, as do all of them.” she said, as if meaning to say ‘please give them attention’.

Haley raised her camera, taking a close up pic of the happy cow with her snout up close. After snapping it, she smiled; it would be a pretty cute picture.

She walked around for a while, snapping pictures of birds in branches, insects on the grass, more candids of Dove, and one of the fish swimming close to the shore, before she realized her nose was full with the smell of animals and dirt and it didn’t even bother her. She hadn’t even registered it until now. 

She bit the inside of her cheek. Not the time to be thinking of this. She was back to petting Dove above the face when Leah left her house and nodded in her direction with a smile. Her stomach burned at the sight, but she waved back with a strained smile on her face.

Thankfully, the woman just passed by her. She thought back to what Emily had said, about Vis smiling and walking away from her, and the monster in her stomach settled.

She looked around, to see what else could be framed in a nice picture. The flowers just outside of Marnie’s house stood out, with their yellow glow against wood. Haley stood beside the flowers, framing so the green of the forest clashed with the brown of wood right in the middle of the picture, where the flowers were. 

As she clicked for the shot, she spotted movement in the background. Taking her eyes off the camera to look for the source of movement, she found Vis, heading to the gigantic tree beside the path that led to their farm. Leah was standing just under it stretching trying to catch some fruit in it.

The hair in Haley’s arm stood on edge and her nostrils flared when Leah turned and saw the farmer approaching. She beamed at them.

Haley took a deep breath, and tried to not think about what was happening before her eyes, because she simply couldn’t look away. Vis raised Leah on their shoulders, so she could catch the fruit that was just out of her reach, and she took it laughing out loud. Haley bit the inside of her mouth as she started seeing red. Leah touched their arm.

Haley whipped around, trying to find anything else to focus so her mind wouldn’t be in what was happening right behind her. Emily had been wrong, unsurprisingly. The farmer was interested in Leah, and was making a point of rubbing it in her face.

Well. Maybe she was angry, they weren’t exactly rubbing it in her face, but still. 

“Hey Haley!” their surprised voice came from behind her. “What are you doing here?”

Haley turned around. “I’m too much of a cheerleader to be seen in a ranch?” She snapped back. Oops.

“Oh.” their smile dimmed a little and Haley’s heart tugged. “No, it’s not that. I’ve just never seen you around here.” they explained, playing with their hands. Great job Haley.

“No, that was rude, sorry.” she tensed her jaw. “The day was beautiful and I stumbled upon Marnie. It gave me the urge to take some nature shots.”

Their eyes widened a little. “Nice idea. Marnie’s cows are really beautiful.” and the smile was back on. Stupid happy farmer with their stupid beautiful smile.

Well, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. “I’ve been curious about the farming lifestyle lately.” she said behind her lashes, shrugging, and saw Vis’ usual non stopping hands stand still. “It’s not something I had ever considered.” she paused, watching for their reaction. “Well, until now.” 

Vis gave her a shy, slightly confused smile, and their cheeks went red, but Haley didn’t mention it. She took the small victory internally.

“Besides, with cuties like this it’s easy to get interested.” she said, petting Dove, but made sure to send them a pointed look. The blush on their cheeks got more intense.

“Yeah. I love cows.” they chuckled lightly, movements a little uncertain. 

A split second idea made its way inside Haley’s mind.“Hey, you know your way around cows, right?” she questioned, not waiting for an answer. “Marnie told me to show Dove here some affection, but I’m still kind of scared of getting too close. I wanted to get some pictures with her.”

Vis seemed at a loss of words, but quickly recovered, cleaning their hands in their dirty old black pants. “Yeah, of course.” It crossed Haley’s mind that she hadn’t even made a second glance to the farmer’s outfit, that was just as terrible as usual. 

“Where’s the hat?” she asked, raising a brow.

Vis touched their head, as if looking for it. “Oh, it was really hot today so I took it off.” she nodded, eyes locked on the way their hands messed playfully with the hair. They had cut it, it was shorter than the last time she saw it, but the taunting curl next to their eye was as present as ever.

Haley took a tripod from her bag, placing the camera on it and framing, so the three of them would easily fit in it. Vis jumped over the fence, and started caressing the cow’s neck, to which she delightfully leaned in their direction, returning the caress with their head. The scene made Haley smile.

She jumped over the fence, with a little less practice than Vis, but joined them on the other side, the slight splashing sound coming from her sandals against mud rung in her ears. What was she doing? 

She heard a picture being taken as they stood each in one side of Dove, petting her neck.

“Hey, I have an idea.” Haley thought back to the farmer raising Leah to reach for the fruit. As the monster turned in her stomach, she decided she would dare. “Help me up.”

She placed her hands on Dove’s back, implying what she wanted. 

Vis seemed to pick up on it really quick, even with the stunned expression. “Okay, hang on.”

And their hands touched Haley’s waist firmly, taking the breath right out of her lungs. She remembered watching those muscles tense to open the jelly jar, and could just imagine it again, as they easily lifted her up into the cows back. She heard the sound of a picture right on time, and felt slightly proud of herself for it. 

“Okay, try to balance yourself as best as you can, I’m not sure Dove is used to people riding them.” they said, not looking away from her. She felt her heart doing backflips by being the center of attention of those brown eyes, as their hands hovered lightly over her waist, just making sure; she held to the one closest to her hand, holding it against her. The blood pumping through her veins rang out in her ears.

Another picture was taken. She was going to need that darkroom right now. 

Dove started moving and Haley’s weight shifted a little, and in her surprise she took her hand off of Vis’ and seized the cow’s fur quickly as a way to maintain her balance. The animal didn’t appreciate the gesture and was just as surprised by it, moving suddenly and quickly to get out of it.

Haley fell, and found herself covered in the mud where the cows roamed. 

Her mind did not function for a second, feeling the gooey earth against the entirety of her body and dirtying her hair, the ringing in her ear slowly fading. “Holy shit, are you okay?” she heard the farmer scream, and she suddenly felt warm hands against the back of her head.

She sat up slowly with their help and saw Dove running around, still a bit nervous. She felt the mud sticking from her hair to her back, and the way her hands were getting drier by the second, how her blouse and shorts were possibly beyond salvation and her sandals would never be the same. The scene unfolded in her brain again, her desperate reaction trying to stay on top, Dove getting scared by the sudden tug, sprinting away. In her mind, she fell to the earth in slow motion.

And then she started laughing. She could not believe she was covered in mud because she was trying to impress a farmer and tried riding a cow. She had never felt more carefree in her life. With her eyes closed, she could only feel the warm presence by her side, and the concern and tenseness that seemed to be emanating from them. When she managed to get her laughing under control, she stared at the farmer kneeling next to her.

Their old and worn out black pants were covered in mud, along with their boots. Their expression was frozen in that of a small smile and a frown of concern. That slight curl next to their eye seemed to be tempting her. “Are you okay?” they asked, reaching out tentatively.

After a moment of thinking, she smiled at them. “That was fun.” she said in a conspiratorial tone. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

And then they were laughing together, and Haley felt like she was made of lightness and air. They helped her up, and Haley felt a shiver run through her as their muddy hands held tightly to one another and they placed a hand in her waist to help her find her balance.

“I’ll admit that’s a scene I never thought I would see.” they smiled at her, and she felt their hand lose the grip around hers. She desperately wanted a reason to keep holding to it.

“And that’s something I never thought I would experience.” Haley said, and felt their hand slip from hers. Fuck. But then they chuckled and they started laughing again.

The farmer helped her jump over the fence, and jumped right after her. “Well I’m not into messing your whole reputation, so I’ll walk you home, so people think I’m the one responsible for the mess.” They said, and this time she didn’t choose to ignore the slightly hopeful tone in their voice.

“Aren’t you?!” she joked, shoving them a bit. “If you hadn’t helped me on top of Dove I wouldn’t look like this right now.”

“I remember _somebody_ asking me to do it.” they joked right back. 

She glanced in the direction she had seen Vis with Leah, and found her reading a book and quickly glancing down to it. “Yeah well sometimes brilliant people can have stupid ideas.” she answered, looking at them.

Haley felt like she was walking on air. 

When they arrived at the house, Emily made a startled noise at the sight of Haley, and covered her mouth when she noticed the farmer standing behind her at the door.

“What the hell happened?!” she asked, eyes wide in shock.

Haley started laughing, “I fell off a cow.” and took her shoes off outside the house. 

She entered tiptoeing, trying not to get the floor dirty, and Vis was left outside, unsure of what to do. They waved at Emily, and her sister waved back. 

Making her way to her room for a shower, she shot back a look to the farmer, blue eyes piercing through their brown ones. “I think that was the dirtiest I’ve ever been.” and smiled.

She watched from the corner of her eyes as she turned, almost as if in a scene of a movie, the way their mouth fell slightly open before quickly shutting it. Haley pretended not to see and entered her room, the monster in her stomach feeling strangely like butterflies making her entire body tingle.

“Okay we have… ten large boxes with thousands of clothes in it to give to the mayor, and two large boxes with enough clothes to keep Emily busy for a year.” Alex said, breathing deeply and smiling for the nicely done job. 

“I never thought this day would come.” Haley said, hugging Alex from the side. He hugged her back. 

Her closet was empty, except for the stack of boxes. It felt weirdly right to give those clothes away, they represented a time of her life where the only thing permanent were them. And now… she didn’t want them to be the only thing she cared about. She wanted to get people into her life, and to not be scared of it. 

The clothes she loved the most and the ones she frequently used had been organized in her dresser and wardrobe, and there was nothing out of place; She was happy for finally putting that back room to good use. 

“Come on, let’s get this to the mayor.” She said, picking up one of the boxes.

Alex picked another one, and when she spotted Emily leaving for Gus, she quickly called for her.

“Ems! Please!” she screamed theatrically. “Take at least one before you get to work!” she extended her hand, as if she was drowning. 

Emily smiled at her, shaking her head and backed up to her closet, getting one of the boxes.

Her relationship with Emily had been ever growing after the year that had passed. They were never on bad terms with each other, but most of her life she didn’t really talk to her sister about things that mattered, and that was slowly changing. 

The trio made their way to Mayor Lewis’ house with three boxes in their arms, and she thanked silently for the short walk, because Haley’s arms were not strong enough to carry those heavy boxes for long.

“Where did you leave the ones for me?” Emily asked.

“I’ll put them next to the sewing machine, so you can sort them out.” Haley answered, and they placed the boxes in the Mayor’s front door and knocked.

A new sound made its way into her ears, and she frowned, looking for it. 

Was it… hooves? 

Against rock?

Her eyes found the source, and thank Yoba she wasn’t holding the box anymore, because she was sure her arms would have stopped working at the sight.

There was a beautiful horse, with auburn fur and mane, and a white stripe that crossed their forehead to their snout, and riding him was Vis. The brown stained shirt was flying in the wind, same as the white tank top, showing the belly underneath it. The worn out pants shook with the wind as the farmer went up and down with the horse motion. 

Haley’s body went warm and she was sure it wasn’t because of the small exercise.

“Hello everyone.” They said with a smile, the horse slowing down as it approached them.

“Hey Vis.” Alex and Emily greeted, smiling back. Haley bit her lip, waving.

“What is going on here?” They asked, petting the horse’s neck and staring at the boxes with a curious look.

“I think the real question is who is _this_?” Haley said, gesturing to the animal.

The farmer gave her that half smile that did _things_ to her stomach. “I think both are fair questions.” they laughed, tugging the horse towards them. “But this is Ventania. I just got him from Robin.” The horse neighed lightly, as if introducing himself.

Mayor Lewis stepped out of his house to find the crowd outside his house and the three full card boxes full of clothes. He was speechless for a second, eyes moving from one person to another, until he finally said: “Hello friends, what’s going on?”

“We’re here to deliver the clothes.” Alex said, indicating the boxes.

"He’s so pretty.” Emily said, stopping before the horse. “Can I pet him?”

“Yeah, for sure.” the farmer nodded, and Emily happily caressed the horse’s face. “Hey Lewis! So that’s what the boxes are for?” they asked, looking directly at Haley.

Haley shrugged. “Just some clothes I’m donating.” she answered. “I’m not using them anyway.”

“Oh, nice.” they said, nodding. “Do you have any you think I’d look good in?”

Haley had to backtrack before imagining them in some of her ripped skinny jeans. “Maybe, if you finally learn how to dress up.” she answered instead. “Gonna have to wait and see what the mayor does with them.” Most of her clothes probably wouldn’t fit them anyway, with how different their bodies were.

“You’re killing me.” They joked, with a glint in their eyes. The mayor watched the exchange with a confused expression.

Alex and Emily shared a look and a smile. “I need to get to work.” Emily said, tugging Vis in a hug as goodbye. “I’ll see you all later.”

“And we have to keep going.” Alex said pointedly to her. She nodded.

“Yeah.” she said, petting Ventania’s nose. The horse didn’t even try to dodge her hand, and she felt special. “We’ll see you around?” she asked, looking Vis dead in the eye.

She thought back to all the times they had asked her the same thing and she had merely ignored it.

“Of course.” they answered, climbing back on their horse. “Bye!”

“I think you should go see Harvey.” Alex commented as she watched the farmer leave for the beach in a gallop and the pair made their way back to Haley’s home.

“What?” she said looking at him, brow raised in confusion.

“That’s the look of someone who’s about to have a heart attack.” he smiled wickedly at her. Haley shoved him with an astonished looked in her face.

“You little shit.” 

Alex was still laughing when they picked up the next round of boxes to leave at the mayor. 

This year, the egg festival seemed to welcome her somehow. Seeing everyone in town together wasn’t as menacing as it had always been, and she held her camera with pride. She remembered Evelyn telling her about how the festival’s connected everyone to the past and the future, and maybe she was starting to feel it.

She was also excited to get some pretty shots today, because her first batch of equipment was coming, and would be arriving at her home anytime soon, and her darkroom would start to take form. 

Emily left her side as she spotted the mom group, to say hello to Jodi and Caroline. She shook her head, raising her camera to capture the moment they smiled at her simultaneously. Priceless.

“Hey babe.” Alex's voice came from her side, and he hugged her. She turned to say hello to Evelyn and George afterwards, finding that Evelyn had a soft smile watching her.

“You look good, dear.” she said, and Haley felt seen.

“I feel good.” she answered, and Evelyn gave her a quick and tight hug. “George.” she greeted the sour man.

“Haley.” he answered, nodding at her.

Haley noticed the small bunny ears Evelyn had placed in his cap, and had to hold back a grin. When the family left to find a table, Haley snapped a shot of them leaving, George in the middle rolling his wheelchair and bunny ears popping out, Evelyn with a hand on his shoulder and Alex smiling at them from the other side. She had placed the camera so the rock path seemed bigger and they looked like people going in the direction of the sky. 

“Miss Haley!” Vincent ran to her side, tugging at her yellow blouse. “Can I get another picture as the rabbit? I think I look more like a rabbit now.” 

She looked at him, and someone had made the rabbit make up in his face with markers. Haley looked up to find Sam and Abigail watching him with a delighted smile. She raised her camera, heart filled with warmth. “It’s gonna look way more real this year.” she nodded, agreeing with him. “Take position, Vincent.” She saw Jodi watching from the sidelines, careful to anything that might happen.

The boy climbed the box and placed his face on the cardboard hole, sticking his tongue out. After Haley clicked and he knew she had taken the photo, Vincent called:

“Miss Penny! Miss Penny! Look!”

Haley found Penny coming their way with Pam, and smiling at Vincent’s rabbit face. “Wow, you’re looking good Vince.”

Vincent gave her the brightest smile she had ever seen, and his face immediately closed theatrically as Penny made her way to Alex, giving him a hug with a tiny smile. 

“Alex, you might want to watch out.” Haley said, nodding in the boy's direction. “I think you’ve got competition.”

They looked at Vincent, who was climbing down the box and Penny laughed at Haley’s joke. What a weird feeling. “I swear, that boy is going to get whoever he wants when he grows up. No one is going to resist that face.”

“I know I wouldn’t.” Alex agreed, but he seemed distracted, eyes searching for something. “Hey Pam.” They both greeted the older woman, who nodded and let out a distracted hello in their direction and made her way to the buffet.

Haley saw Sebastian and his family arriving from Pierre’s house; Maru and him came in the front, both with hands in their shorts pockets and staring straight ahead, while Demetrius and Robin came hand in hand. She framed the picture and took the shot. Her stomach grumbled, so before she put her camera away she took a picture of Gus with a proudly presented scrambled eggs plate. She placed it inside her bag, and picked up a plate to fill with food. 

Their table was once again kind of crowded. Shane and Marnie were discussing the best egg recipe while Jas got up and went to play with Vincent, Penny and Pam were sitting side by side and Gus was speaking to the older woman about something, Emily was really focused on Evelyn’s talk about knitting and George seemed to be dozing off, his arms crossed on his chest. She placed her plate on the table and picked up her camera again, taking a shot of it all from the edge of the table. 

After a while, Penny spoke up. She was sitting on the other side of Alex. “Haley, I wanted to say something.”

Haley looked from her plate to the woman’s face, and raised a brow. “Yeah?” Yoba, here it came.

“I wanted to say I’m glad we’re… I don’t know, acquaintances? Now.” Penny started, shrugging. “You’re… not at all what I had always painted you to be.”

Haley stared at Penny for a second, speechless. “I loved the picture everyone painted. Served my purpose.” she finally answered. It was her choice to finally let that picture fall, to finally use her camera as a way of bringing people to her and not keeping them out. “But I’m glad too. It’s less hard, this way.” she said, mostly to herself.

George, Evelyn and Pam had been in conversation, but she thought she saw Evelyn smile in her direction.

“Hey everyone!” came the farmer’s voice. Haley felt her heart do a backflip in surprise.

It wasn’t a surprise that they showed up, they had never missed a town festival, but hearing their voice out of nowhere still got her body worked up. A chorus of greetings came from the table, and everyone smiled at them. Her stomach fluttered at the sight.

What once had been a source of her never ending distrust of them was now what she had grown to look up to. And Haley’s emotions were stronger every time she saw them because of it.

They did not sit down with them, instead making their way around the square and greeting everyone. The energy bubbling in their body was astounding, really. Even if they weren’t sitting with her, Haley couldn’t quite keep her eyes away for long, always finding them and silently watching them interact with the town. 

She got a beautiful picture of Jas diving for an egg as Vincent tried running for it, with Shane cheering in the back. Abigail unsurprisingly won again.

After a quick breakfest, Haley had been foccused mainly on getting the new equipment that had arrived in her house working.The afternoon had been reserved for a birthday gathering that was just like her usual gatherings with Emily and Alex, but with baked goods and birthday singing. Maybe Sandy would come, but that was usually a wild card. 

She was plugging the enlarger on when she heard the doorbell ringing. Emily could handle it. The light flashed on and Haley smiled proudly at it. One down, a few lamp changing to go. 

“Hayley, it’s Vis.” Emily called, and Haley’s head shot up quickly. 

She left the newly repurposed room and opened the door to the living room, finding the farmer at her doorstep. They had a dark sword strapped to their back, and were wearing the weird purple boots that did nothing to favour the old pants and brown shirt and blue bandana.

Haley noticed the yellow box in their hands, and the auburn horse behind them. And when their brown eyes locked on hers, she was surprised to find nervousness on their face.

“Hey Haley, I... Hm… I, well, actually wanted to talk to you.” they said quickly, eyes on her and body swaying in place. “Real quick, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, of course.” She said, crossing the living room to meet them in the entrance. Emily left to the kitchen so she could keep baking. Her butterflies wouldn’t settle and she felt like she might just kiss the farmer right then and there, shielded from the rest of the town. 

“I’m… I’m going to the Calico desert today, so I thought I should pass here first.” they started. Haley noticed their throat bob. “I was watching TV the other day and The Queen of Sauce had gotten a letter from you, saying you loved her pink cake.” they shifted their weight, looking at the package in their hands. “So, anyways, happy birthday.” they offered the gift.

Haley was surprised at the gesture, and for a moment, didn’t react to the offering. The fact that Vis had noticed her on TV and baked her a cake made her body stop responding.

Noticing the farmer getting antsy, she took the box, mouth still slightly gaping, and opened it. She found a pink cake, not as pretty as The Queen’s one, but the sugary smell still delicious. Haley was certain her eyes were shining, and a knot had formed in her throat, because she could not deal with this.

“You…” she spoke, the surprise evident in her voice. “This is my favorite.”

They smiled, swaying in the spot. “I hope I got it right. This was my second attempt at it, it’s way better than the first one.” they chuckled, clearly still nervous.

Haley placed the box on the center table, and pulled the farmer in for a hug. She relished on the feeling of their warmth and their hands around her. The smell of earth and dirt made her feel comfortable, and she never wanted to let go, but she couldn’t keep them there. Her body ached for more.

“Thank you.” she said, smiling brightly at them. “I love it.”

They chuckled again, shaking their head. “I’m really glad.” A smile sprung in their lips and Haley felt giddiness settling in her bones. “I have to go, the bus is leaving soon, but I hope you have a great birthday.”

They hopped on top of Ventania and took one last glance at her, smiling again, before leaving in a gallop to the bus stop. Haley stared at the box in their center table and felt like she just might combust; Emily went to stand at her side, looking at the pink cake with a mischievous smile on her face.

“What was it you were saying about them not feeling it back?”

Haley pierced her sister with her eyes. “They give gifts to everyone on their birthdays.” but a grin made its way to her lips anyway.

They were sitting on the edge of the river, throwing stones in it. It was late at night already and the spring sky was beautifully clear, with stars shining everywhere. That was something she never got in Zuzu city: stars. And what a bonus they were.

“You know... you’re going to need a new dance partner tomorrow.” Alex commented, laying back on the grass.

He was sleeping over at Haley’s today, so he wasn’t bothered about arriving home late and worrying Evelyn. Haley watched some fish swim around in the river, not laying back just yet. “I know. But you’ve been acting weird around Penny lately.” she poked at him, and Alex curled up on himself with a smile, and then sighed.

“Yeah.. I’m figuring myself out, but I still want to dance with her. You should ask Vis.” he said, not throwing any punches, smiling at the sky. “You know you want to.”

“Why can’t they ask me?” she said, annoyed at the idea. “I _am_ the Flower Queen.”

“Oh, sure, but they might not know you want to dance with them, since you always dance with me.”

“Yoba, what if they’re a bad dancer?” she chuckled, laying with her friend. “I wouldn’t even care, you know? That’s what’s eating me alive.” she said, looking at him, and Alex looked back with a glint in his eye. “My whole life I’ve been so concerned about my image and how I must always present myself with the regality of a queen if I want to be respected, and now I don’t even care if I make a fool of myself tomorrow if it’s with them.”

“I’m never going to say you don’t have to worry about your looks, but it's more important to be happy.” Alex said, curling his arms behind his head. “I’m glad we’re getting there.”

She wondered if they were even interested in her that way. One part of her answered ‘it’s obvious they are’, and another just quietly questioned ‘well, what if they aren’t?’.

“Do you think they’re interested in me?” she blurted out, not used to this sort of uncertainty, eyes fixated on the shining stars.

Alex laughed. “I’ll give you Dusty if they aren’t.”

“But _really_ interested?” she insisted, breathing in deeply. “As in, not only interested in me as a pretty face and maybe a friend with certain benefits, but actually interested?”

He looked at her, wetting his lips and frowning. “I guess you’ll have to find out.” his eyes were serious. “I never took Vis for the type that misleads someone, so if they do mislead you and hurt your feelings, I’m coming for them.”

Haley smiled at him, and nodded. “Okay.”

She fixed his tie properly, then took a step back to appreciate the look. Alex wore a blue-green blazer and a tie with leaf prints in different shades of green and blue, with a black button-up beneath it and black pants. His hair was held back with gel and the green eyes popped immensely in the outfit.

“You look like a god right now.” she said, nodding approvingly. 

“We both do.” He said, smiling proudly.

Haley had opted for a tight white button up shirt with the top buttons undone, which favored her breasts, and a loose white skirt that held tightly to her waist and opened around her thighs. She wore a golden necklace with a small aquamarine pendant that she knew made her eyes look infinitely more blue, and styled her hair in a medieval braid.

They smiled at each other.

“Emily are you ready?” She shouted.

“Finishing my makeup!” her sister shouted back, as they opened the door to the living room. “Okay, I’m ready!” Emily said, stepping into it in a polka dotted red dress and a red bandana tied in the top of her head, like a cloth.

They left at the same time as Sam’s family, and the blonde guy saluted her with a tiny smile. “Hey everyone.” they greeted. Sam wore a loose light yellow shirt, with several buttons left unopened, and light blue pants.

“Hey Sam. Your band’s starting to sound like something.” she said, nodding at the family. She noticed Kent, silent and alert, and felt a shudder. She didn’t like the military very much, and Kent was a very scary man, tall and built with muscles and scars. 

“Thanks! We finally found our sound, I think.” he smiled, and Vincent excitedly started complimenting his brother’s guitar skills.

“Be sure to call us when you finally perform.” Emily asked. 

Idle chatter followed them to the secluded spot reserved for the Flower Festival.

Evelyn, as usual, had done an amazing job. The flowers this year were mostly blue, in every shade of it. Petals flew around and were held upwards in lines, and it matched the beautiful blue sky that covered their heads.

Haley waved at Evelyn and George in the distance, as Alex went to say hello to them. 

She walked around with Emily, saying hello to each of the women in her aerobics club, and, incredibly, Harvey - who went a little red and said hello back.

Haley raised her camera for a shot of the entire area. The blue flowers made for an amazing background of the people interacting all around. Gus was around the food, probably explaining the recipes to mayor Lewis and Marnie. Abigail sat by Sebastian, who was smoking his cigarette, and both of them stared at the approaching Sam. The moms stood in a circle, watching Vincent and Jas run around and speaking excitedly to one another. Harvey, Maru and Demetrius were chatting about something near Alex’s grandparents and him and Penny, and Leah stood with Elliott near the water. 

For a long time, Haley had hated that small town and all the restrictions it posed to her, but now she looked at that frame and felt a certain sense of peace and comfort. Those people had been there for a long time, caring for the town and always making it better somehow, some helping each other, others seeking comfort in the isolation and nature of the Valley, and some simply trying to live their lives as best as they could, and they all made for the complete picture. 

It felt right, after everything she had come to realize. Connecting the past to the future.

She made her way to the food table, waiting for Alex to ask Penny to the dance. She snapped a picture of Jas and Vincent dancing with each other and then put her camera aside; being a part of something made her feel things. With a plate full, she made her way to them, and Penny smiled at her arrival.

The girl had chosen a pastel orange dress with short sleeves and white leaves embroidered in it, and was wearing a round fiber hat with a flower tied in it.

“Hey Penny.”

“Hi Haley. I love the outfit.”

Haley smiled at her. “Thanks, I like yours too. How are you feeling about dancing today?” She asked.

Penny nudged at Alex. “I haven’t danced in so long...” Penny pondered, biting her lip. “Since Sam and Sebastian got together and Abigail wasn’t really interested in dancing with me, I just didn’t dance anymore. I’m kinda nervous.”

“It’s gonna be fine, it’s not a hard dance.” Alex said, smiling at her. 

“Besides, you have a great dancing partner.” Haley nodded in the direction of her best friend.

“I’m counting on it.” she said, leaning into him for a bit. Alex placed his hand on the small of her back afterwards, and Haley noticed the way his eyes searched for something quickly behind her.

She stood with them, back turned to the entrance, so she didn’t even notice when Sandy arrived in a magical pink dress that matched her hair, beside the farmer; she and Alex were in a very intense conversation on the dress Abigail had chosen for the occasion. 

It wasn’t until later, as they were putting their plates away, that she felt someone tap her on the shoulder and found herself staring in those deep brown eyes that seemed golden in the sunlight. 

“Hey there.” they said, a smile creeping up on their face.

“Hi.” Haley answered, smiling back. Vis stood a little straighter.

“Confident on your prize this year?” they said, hands on their pockets.

Haley took a moment to answer, biting her lip unconsciously and admiring who exactly was standing right in front of her. The farmer had opted for black pants that were nowhere near the ones they wore on a day to day basis, and a new pair of shoes; the pink button up was clearly new and had been pressed, the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled back. The wild curly hair and that idiotic brown curl near the eye gave a sense of carelesness to the outfit that seemed rather fitting to them. The response her body had to the sight was nowhere near appropriate.

“Of course. I’ve been reigning queen for quite awhile now.”

“From the way I’ve seen you dance last year, I don’t really doubt it. You and Alex are really in-sync to it.”

“Actually, Alex is dancing with Penny this year.” She said, staring pointedly in their eyes. “So I’m still looking for a partner.”

The way their body froze at the comment and then visibly swallowed made her heart pick up. For a moment, there was no answer, so Haley decided her pride be damned if it meant she got a chance to dance with them.

“Do you wanna dance with me?” She asked, tilting her head a bit to the side. _I’m not much of a dancer_ , they had once said. 

Mayor Lewis started calling for the pairs to get ready for the dance.

“I’ve… uh..” they scratched the back of their head and their breathing picked up. “I’ve been practicing. If you really want to dance with me.”

“I do.” she answered, her eyes never once leaving theirs.

“Well, I hope I can be as good as Alex.” they chuckled nervously 

_I literally couldn't care less, if your hands are around my waist_ , was what went through her head, but after a beat she answered “Don’t put yourself in such a high comparison. Me and Alex have been dancing together since we were kids.” 

When the old-fashioned song started playing and their eyes were locked together, approaching and circling each other, hands raised together as they danced, she felt the low burn in her belly slowly lit her body on fire. 

The drinks from the festival made her head feel light and her tongue feel looser. The sun was starting to set on the horizon, some of the people leaving the event and some dancing, lost in their own world (namely, Sandy and Emily). 

“You think Sebastian and Sam broke up?”

She counted herself as lost in her own world too, because the farmer was walking beside her as she made her way home, and they seemed to be as light and happy as she felt.

“Maybe.” Haley thought about it. “They didn’t dance together.”

“And Abigail spent the entire festival not leaving their sides.” they shook their head. “I just hope they haven’t fought.” 

They looked at her in a side glance, and raised their hand to fix the flower crown in her head.

“You know, Flower Queen suits you.” came out of their mouth, and Haley shivered at the eyes that didn’t leave hers. “I thought so, last year. I still do.” and there was that half smile.

“I was indeed raised for royalty. My nana made sure of it.” she joked, but saw the farmer sober slightly at the comment.

“How are you feeling? About all that?” they spoke, but Haley wasn’t sure what they meant so she merely kept admiring their face in the orange glow of the fading sun. She was sure their eyes were magical. “About your nana, I mean. If it’s okay for me to ask. You said I got you thinking.” they quickly added.

Haley pondered, taking her eyes off of them and staring at the lake, where the sun was reflecting. “You did, more than I already was.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry-”

“No, not in a bad way, exactly.” she reassured them, finding a hand and squeezing it. “I loved her, a lot. And she did raise me, but Emily and Alex and you were right to point out that maybe I had been making everyone else the enemy when they were simply existing, because of what she taught me. She had a hard life, I don’t blame her. But I don’t need to live like that too.”

“I’m sure she meant the best when she taught you all that.” They spoke after a moment, squeezing her hand back. “If that’s what she thought was true.”

Both their steps were slow, as if to stretch this moment for as long as it could.

“Our conversation that day got me thinking about how no one in my family talks about hardships that much.” They chuckled, staring at the lake with her. “No one ever mentioned the bad stuff back home, as if it would make it go away, so I never learned how to deal with it and they got really under my skin all my life, and I just... shut down because of it.” Haley felt like they were more lost in thought now than speaking to her. 

“Kind of the opposite of me growing up.” she pondered, and Vis smiled at the sky.

“We were kind of opposites.” they shrugged, their thumb caressing the back of her hand.

A comfortable quiet fell over them as they reached the stone steps of Pelican Town hand in hand. When she stopped in front of her home, she realized Vis’ had gone out of their way to walk with her. They didn’t let go of her hand and fixed the flower crown on her head again, using the other one. The way their bodies got close with it made Haley’s breath get caught in her throat.

She saw those eyes get lost in hers for a second, and then their smile was back.

“I’ll see you around.” they said light, and happy and maybe waiting for something. After a moment of staring at each other, their hand slipped out of hers and they turned around and went back the way they had come. 

Haley had never wanted anything more than to grab them by the shirt and lock them in her room with her forever. 

Emily’s birthday party was possibly the biggest non-event that happened in Stardew Valley. Her sister was friends with at least one person in each of the town’s friend circles, so basically the entire town showed up for her party. She didn’t even have a problem with it this year, since Haley had started making amends with the rest of the town.

Emily had been baking and cooking since the day before, and now, as the sun started going down in the horizon, the music, the food and the drinks were starting to run low. Haley picked up another glass of the lemon drink she loved in the kitchen and made her way to the makeshift dance floor they had opened up in the living room. 

Alcohol truly did work miracles, because somehow she found herself dancing with Maru and Abigail, none of them uttering a word but clearly in sync with whatever was the choreography to the song currently playing. She saw Alex and Sebastian speaking passionately with one another but her alcohol-filled brain didn’t process it like her sober self would have, merely filing it out for later. 

Sandy and Emily were sitting on the couch speaking excitedly with Gus and Robin about something, and Clint stood to the side, looking sour. Haley rolled her eyes. and the world maybe rolled with it.

“I’m gonna get some water.” Maru finally spoke, and Haley decided water would be amazing right now.

“I’m coming with.” The fact that both of them had bailed on dancing made Abigail move to the couch, where Leah and Elliott struck up a conversation with her. She made a face, and was glad no one was there to see it.

They were silently tilting their glasses down their throats, but Haley decided she wanted to talk. “Have I ever said I love your glasses?” she commented, drinking a little more of the water. Maru raised her brow, indulging her. “They suit you so well. There are glasses out there that make a person’s entire face disappear but yours just matches your face. So good.”

“Do you need glasses?” Maru asked, putting her hands in the pocket of her shorts.

Haley didn’t understand the question. “No. Why?”

“Thought you were gonna ask me where I got them.” Maru shrugged, filling her glass of water again.

Haley laughed, maybe a bit louder than she would’ve normally. “I’m just telling you they’re pretty. Because.” She shrugged, drinking the rest of the water and picking up more.

“Thanks.” Maru nodded, throwing a glance to the living room. “You’re a better dancer than I thought, considering how well you do the Flower one.”

“If I’m good at the flower dance why wouldn’t I be a good other dancer?” she questioned, picking up more water.

Maru took a big sip before answering. “The flower dance is old. It’s not like dancing to music nowadays.” 

“Yeah, well, you’re okay at the flower dance but you’re really good at dancing nowadays.”

Maru raised her glass a bit, and downed the rest of the water. “Thanks.” She left the kitchen, and got back to the dance floor. Alex started dancing with her as Sebastian sat down next to Abigail.

She finished her glass, got more water and made her way to the door, wanting to get some fresh air. She gave a look towards Alex and he merely smiled her way. She quickly spotted Sam, Penny and Vis sitting together besides the river, while Jas and Vincent were playing around them. The three had juice glasses in their hands.

She sat down next to them.

“Haley!” Sam exclaimed, hugging her from the side. “I’m glad you’re on the light side now.” he greeted, smiling as he let her go. 

“Me too!” Penny joined in, with a thumbs up.

“Me three.” The farmer said, and their eyes locked and Haley felt the monster in her stomach scream for contact, watching them take another sip at their drink.

“Honestly?” she said, raising her water. “Me four.” They raised their glasses together and made a collective cheer.

Most of her life, even when drinking, Haley had stayed closed off to the people around her and it felt freeing not to feel threatened all the time, not making an effort to keep people away. The conversation flew easily around them and Haley felt happy. True drunkish glee.

And then she caught the farmer looking in her direction, with those red cheeks from drinking and that slight glint in their eyes and she knew what she wanted to do. She knew it. But she couldn’t, not right now, at least.

“Can I ask you something?” she spoke quietly in their ear. 

The farmer nodded, leaning towards her. Her stomach fluttered.

“Why did you move here?” She asked. Penny and Sam had got up to help Vincent and Jas with something. “You told me you opened your grandfather’s letter when you got tired of the world.” her eyes were looking at their profile, and the farmer brought their knees up, seemingly more aware now. “You don’t have to tell me.”

They smiled at her. “It’s not exactly a big deal.” they shrugged. “My… uh.. my brother died a couple of years ago; he was my parents' favorite, not that they would admit it, but I loved him so much, and he loved me. My biggest supporter and all that. I always had trouble with academic life and it was no different with college, and he was the one that was there for me, mostly; I’ve told you, my parents don’t deal well with hardship.” She watched their shoulders fall a little, and they shrugged. “He got in a car accident, and my parents shut down from everything else after it, and I stopped being able to cope with school so I dropped out. I got a desk job at one of the phone companies in Lala city and stayed there, even though I _know_ he wouldn’t have wanted it.” they shook their hands, tightening their hold on hers. “I felt like a robot, overworked and underpaid, people say. I had to help my parents with the money and the house when they wouldn’t even acknowledge me most of the time.”

Haley wanted to ask where their friends were, during all this, but she didn’t want to stop their story before they could finish.

“Year and a half later, my parents are doing better and I’m stuck in a life I don’t want to be, not even thinking about anything I do, I don’t have anyone else to turn to and I feel empty. Then, I remember my grandpa’s letter.” they sighed. “I guess being alone was what made me move here.”

“You didn’t have anyone in Lala city?” She thought that was hard to believe.

“I was quieter, as a kid, didn't make any friends.” they explained. Haley reached out and held their hand. just because. “And in college I was really busy being overwhelmed to form any lasting bond, same when I started working. I think people tried befriending me, because I was always there to help anyone that needed it and then they would come back.” they chuckled. “But I wasn’t paying attention, and didn’t know how to, anyway, too lost in my own world. I promised I’d do differently, when I saw what my grandpa had left for me.” they gestured to the river in front of them, not letting go of her hand. “I guess it worked out, winging it and all that.” they smiled at her.

Haley stared at that person, remembering how awkward they were when they moved here, and thinking about who they were now. She squeezed their hand and they looked up at her, raising an eyebrow.

“I want to show you something.” She said, getting up and leading them to her home.

A confused smile grew on their face “Okay..?”, and Haley’s brain felt fuzzy at the sight.

Haley tugged them through the crowd of people dancing in the living room and lounging with drinks, towards her room.

“You have something to show me in your room?” they said and Haley heard the slight surprise in their tone.

“Not exactly.” she said, turning to face them and opening the door on her back. The farmer took in her room with a quick look around, but Haley didn’t give them time, opening the back door and nodding towards it. “C’mon.”

She closed the door and switched the red lights on, taking a look around. She felt a swell of pride as the picture’s hung in the clothesline and heard the small intake of breath from the farmer.

“What is this?” they said quietly, looking around with awe.

“I’ve decided to invest more in my photography, lately.” she explained, and tugged them towards the pictures, just for the pleasure of feeling their hands on hers. “I didn’t bother much, Mayor Lewis paid me to be a photographer and I’d deliver the film to him later. But I’ve grown fond of the pictures, and of the way people feel when I share them with them. I guess it had something to do with you. In my life. Wanting to open up and all that.”

Vis stood still, cheeks slightly blushed staring at the pictures taken. There was one of Demetrius taking notes in the fountain, one of Alex petting Dusty, the one she loved of Jas diving for the egg in the annual egg hunt, one of Sandy and Emily dancing together in the Flower Dance, the one of them pushing Haley up on Dove’s back, and so many others; but Haley noticed their eyes always coming back to the one she took of them riding their horse, from this one time they had passed by her while she was in the fountain with her camera.

Haley was particularly proud of that one. Ventania’s mane was flowing in the wind, as was the farmer’s brown shirt, their stance was balanced and there was a feeling of movement in the shot, thanks to the blurring of certain areas. Their eyes were focused on something that the picture didn’t show, and the expression was flawless, seemingly sculpted in marble. She thought that image gave the feeling of purpose that she imagined moved the farmer around. It was the first time she tried working a little more concept in printing the photograph than simply printing it normally.

“These are amazing.” they said, the blushed cheeks getting even redder.

“Thank you.” she answered, giving them a tiny smile. “I’ve actually been meaning to give you this one.” she pointed to the one they had been staring at. “I’m not sure when it’s your birthday, so…”

“Haley...” the farmer started, looking in her direction.

Haley was very aware of how close they stood to each other. The red light was doing wonders to their face, that seemed to be from another world entirely. Magical. She noticed their eyes drop and stay on her lips for a few instants. Her heart seemed to be carving a path outside of her chest.

This person had opened a new world of connections and emotions and relationships to her, and in return asked for nothing. They shared their life with her, and in the process made her realize so much about herself, but never talked about what they were to each other, some sort of friends with a lot of unresolved tension. At least from her part.

“Do you…” they started, licking their lips. Haley’s eyes couldn’t turn away even if she demanded it, but they quickly averted her stare, looking around nervously. Haley’s eyes didn’t falter. “Wanna go back to the party?” they finished, eyes flickering from hers to their surroundings.

Haley wondered if they were saying that because they didn’t want that to happen, wanted to stay just as they were, and were looking for a way out, but her slightly drunk self was enough to shut up the part of her brain that always placed this doubt on her mind.

“No.” she said simply, turning her body entirely towards them.

They were quiet. There was dimmed down fast music coming from the party just outside, and it felt in sync with her heartbeat.  
What seemed like an eternity later, Vis’ body turned towards hers. Their expression wasn’t as nervous as it had been, and their eyes were determined. Her stomach was alight with butterflies when their head inclined slightly towards hers, eyes still locked in each other. 

Haley took that as the sign she’d been waiting for months. Her hands moved to their head on their own, and she tugged their lips down on hers.

The first thing she noticed was the fireworks that seemed to be blowing in her entire body, and how soft their lips seemed on hers. Vis’ hand didn’t move, and they kissed back slowly and gently. She had always associated the amount of muscle and nervousness she saw on them with aggressiveness and hurried kisses, but oh did she love the surprise. 

The thought of the farmer’s muscle’s made her hands descend from their cheeks to their stomach, feeling the skin in it softly. Something clicked in place with the motion, she felt the sharp intake of breath from the farmer, and then they moved closer to her, one hand going to the back of her neck and the other holding tightly to her waist. She felt overwhelmed by the smell of earth and wood and nature and them.

The next second she pushed them forward, not daring to untangle themselves, pressing the famer against the wall.

Even in her wildest dreams she wouldn’t have imagined herself in that position. They were all she could sense and smell and touch and taste. She deepened the kiss, sucking at their lower lip and felt a slight tug at her hair, which led to a soft whimper escaping her lips. She kissed the small smile that formed on their lips with the sound, and felt their fingers slip under her tank top; her body lit up with the touch, and the slightly opened mouth was enough of an invitation for them.

Their hands cradled her face, and Haley tilted her head to the side, wanting nothing more than to become one with this person at this moment. Her fingers smoothed over their stomach’s skin and loved the way it tensed up. A sigh escaped their mouth, and she bit lightly against their lips, opening her eyes to stare into those warm brown eyes that seemed as lost in her as she was in them.

Leaning her forehead against theirs, she breathed in deeply, fingers tightening their hold beneath their shirt. She could just imagine what those muscles were capable of doing. A chuckle escaped their mouths.

“You have…” they breathed in, one hand holding her cheek gently. “No idea. How long I’ve been wanting to do that.”

Haley felt an insufferable smile incapable of being dimmed down creep in her lips.

“Good.” 

She tugged them down from the collar to kiss her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Ventania" was not chosen because of she-ra, but because its the name of this horse that I knew and he was the love of my life so in game I named my farmer's horse like that and it felt only right to put it here too. And writing Alex and Haley is what gives me life because friendship is everything to me, and I hope everything that happened counts for you too as Haley and Vis becoming friends because that's what was intended, before they finally kiss and admit they like each other. Writing Haley going around flirting with the farmer was amazing. 
> 
> (I have a really hard time writing kisses and stuff mostly because its a really sensorial thing and It's hard for me to put it in words, but also because I'm writing in english and i don't think I have that wide of a vocabulary for it not to get kind of repetitive, but anyways!)
> 
> Thhanks for reading it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

**Author's Note:**

> So hear me out I've never actually done anything multichapter (or anything really), but I am a Haley-girl first and a sdv addict second, so i was in dire need of Haley content in my life and this got way out of hand. It is 100% self indulgent but I hope you all like it (I've already written two chapters and I have no idea of how and when to use "in" or "on", so bear with me)


End file.
